Telepathic Insights
by Galadeidre
Summary: Post X2. Lenette Terace was a normal human kid with one exception...a mutant boyfriend. Now, her life's beginning to change...for better or for worse? Can she handle it? R&R please!
1. Livin' a Normal Life

**Chapter 1: Livin' a Normal Life**

By: Galadeidre

A/N: This story happens within a few weeks or so after Jean dies in X2.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Xmen that you all recognize. I do, though, own the ones you don't recognize (duh!!) I hope you like this story! If possible, please review and tell me what you think about it!! Thanks!

Galadeidre

* * *

_A young man with short brown hair and a strange-looking visor grunts. "Come on!"_

_"Oh, no, we've lost the power," says a woman with smooth brown skin and pure white hair._

_Suddenly, something erupts from behind the jet that they are in, and only another young woman with short red hair senses it._

_The young man with the visor continues to speak, not knowing what the redhead is sensing. "There's power in the fuel cells, we're just not connecting."_

_The white-haired woman continues to talk, but the redhead doesn't hear her. She turns her head around to the back of the jet and gasps quietly to herself as she stares out through the open hatch._

_"Scott, the engine control system is shot. All of it." _

_The redhead looks back to the front as the white-haired woman says this. She notices the other two that are watching the young man and white-haired woman as they struggle to get the aircraft up into the sky. Both are men. One has black hair that comes to two points on each side of his head. The other is blue, with markings all over his face and no doubt all over his body. As the two people that are piloting the jet continue to speak, the red-haired woman limps outside._

_A few moments later, only one other notices her disappearance. An old man sitting down mutters, "Jean?"_

_The black-haired man turns around. "Wait, where's Jean?" At this, the young man at the control panel with the strange visor turns around. _

_The old man sighs and closes his eyes. "She's outside," he mutters wearily._

_The brown-haired man gets up out of his chair and runs to the open hatch in the back of the jet. _

_The redhead, now known as Jean, limps onward through the snow. She senses the man running to the hatch and turns around. She holds out her arm and the hatch closes. With that same arm held out, she stares in the direction of the jet and starts to power up the engine. The engine goes back online, making the jet come alive. _

_The young man with the visor yells from the back end of the jet. "No, we're not leaving! Lower the ramp!"_

_From outside, a few hundred feet away from the jet, there comes a sound of cracking and crumbling. A dam has broken and is pouring out water in the jet's direction in angry torrents. _

_Back inside the jet, the young man yells, "Storm, lower it!"_

_The white-haired woman tries, but to no avail. She, now known as Storm, looks helplessly at the control panels. "I can't." _

_The water from the broken dam comes rushing straight at the jet. Jean takes one look at the water and immediately holds out her other arm, splitting the flood of water so it rushes on either side of her and the jet. _

_The others feel the impact inside and struggle to keep their balance as the water rushes outside on either side of them. _

_Storm yells to the others as she spots Jean from outside the front windows. "She's controlling the jet." The black-haired man looks out the window as well, followed by the brown-haired man._

_Suddenly, the black-haired man turns around to the blue guy. "You! Get her, now!"_

_The blue man closes his eyes, but opens them again. "She's not letting me." Horrified, the black-haired man looks back through the window as the man with the visor swears. _

_All of a sudden, the old man, his eyes closed, speaks out in a soft voice._

_"I know what I'm doing." The men turn around. "This is the only way."_

_Realizing, that Jean is talking through the old man, the brown-haired man kneels in front of him. _

_"Jean," he starts, "listen to me. Don't do this."_

_All the old man does is smile and whisper, "Good-bye…" _

_The brown and black-headed men start to mutter, "No". The old man's eyes open, and he looks away, a pained expression on his face. _

_The jet starts to lift and they all watch through the window to see what the woman, Jean, is doing. _

_A fiery aura surrounds Jean and her eyes look as if a fire burns within them. The old man closes his eyes just as Jean drops her hand that was blocking the water and also closes her eyes. The minute her hand drops, the water engulfs her, and she is gone from view. _

_The others are stunned at what they see. _

_The black-haired man is the first to speak, but his words are of little comfort to the others. "She's gone. She's gone."_

_The other man wearing the visor pushes him backwards, gripping his arms in the process and shaking him. "Don't you say that!" His voice breaks. "We gotta go back."_

_The black-haired man continues to mutter the same words. "She's gone."_

_"No! No." The man with the visor stares at the black-haired man for a moment before he begins to sob. There are several kids on the jet, and they sadly watch as they start to realize that one of them will not be coming back with them. Storm and the old man are quiet, but are close to crying. The blue man looks on sadly._

_The black-haired man, too, is on the verge of tears as he repeats the only two words that have come out of his mouth ever since she disappeared. His eyes are open, but they are empty and stare at nothing in particular. _

_The blue man pulls out a cross on a thin chain and starts to recite, his German accent thick, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil…for thou art with me."_

_As he recites this, the old man looks up at him and away, as he slowly comes to realize that all is not the same…

* * *

_

A young girl opened up her eyes and jerked up out of bed. Her breath was ragged and uneven as she clutched the front of her nightshirt. The visions were still so very vivid. The image of the redhead being engulfed in water and disappearing from the surface haunted her mind. She clutched her head. "It was only a dream. Only a dream…"

Yet…she didn't believe herself. It had felt all too real. And something inside of her was telling her that it wasn't just a dream.

Suddenly, her alarm went off, making her jerk up and give a slight scream. Once she realized that it was just her alarm, she quickly turned it off and lay back in bed, thinking of her dream. She gave a smirk. _Oh, if Conner finds out, he'll be so worried again. I'd best not tell him. Then again, he'll find out by himself, for sure._ Giving another smirk, she dozed off into a dreamless sleep.

After about a half hour, she jerked open her eyes and slowly climbed out of bed with a yawn. She opened her door and trudged to the bathroom, closing it after her. She rinsed her mouth and washed her face. As she finished drying it off, she stared at herself through the mirror and smiled. She was proud of her appearance and wouldn't have it any other way. She loved her shoulder-length red hair. It curled slightly outwards and had a glossy shine to it. Her face was a soft peach complexion and her cheeks were a natural soft pink. She hardly put on makeup, but was satisfied with what she looked like. Her lips were a soft dark pink and her nose…well, yes, it could have been tweaked a little bit more, for it was her least favorite part of her face, but it would have to do. Besides, it wasn't that bad. Her favorite part of her face, though, was her eyes. They were a pure emerald green. Her parents had told her before that only one other person in their family had had jewel green eyes like hers. That had been her great grandmother on her father's side. She would love to stare into the mirror and just look straight into her eyes, amazed at how bright green they were.

Her face reminded her slightly of that Jean woman in her dreams and her frown returned.

She was in the bathroom longer than she had realized, for she soon heard a small knock on the door.

"Len? Is that you in there?" a small voice chirped.

She gave a smile as she answered back. "Yeah, San. It's me."

"Are you changing or something?"

"No."

"Okay."

"Why? Do you need the bathroom?"

No reply.

"Sanny? You still there?"

Still no reply.

Len smiled and shook her head. She loved her little brother to death. He was so adorable. He had dark red, almost brown, hair that had been cut slightly longer than a mushroom cut. His face was dotted with cute, faded freckles and his eyes were the same emerald green as hers, which was rare. That made three of them out of her entire family line.

Suddenly, she heard the doorknob of the bathroom twist open – somebody had unlocked it from the outside. She whirled around and gave a scream as it opened, only to find a young man appear through the open door, his gray eyes twinkling and a grin from one ear to the other. His brown hair was slightly naturally messy, which gave him a boyish look, for he never gelled it or anything. His face was tan and he had clean white teeth. He looked about eighteen or so, about the same age as Len.

Len let out her breath and gave a glare at the intruder. "Conner! Geez, what made you scare me like that? And why are you here this early in the morning?"

The young man, now known as Conner, cocked one eyebrow and gave a smirk. "You call this early?" He looked at his watch and tapped it. "My clock says eight. If you don't hurry, you're gonna be late, making me late."

Len smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good morning to you, too."

Conner gave a sigh and closed his eyes. "That felt nice. Y'mind giving my other cheek a kiss, too?"

Len shook her head and smiled, but kissed him anyway. "C'mon. I gotta change still." She walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, Conner following her.

As he closed the door behind him, Conner asked with a grin, "You don't mind if I'm in here, too, right?"

"Is there any stopping you?"

Conner chuckled. "No, I guess not."

"Just as long as you don't peek." She started to take off her nightshirt and Conner turned around. Of course, his head didn't stay turned around for long.

Len had a hunch that she was being watched and gave a smile. "Conner…" she warned.

Conner's head turned back around with a grin. "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

"So I realized." She finished putting her belt on her slightly baggy pants and gave him a hug around his back. "You can turn around now, though."

Conner immediately spun around and pinned her onto her bed. "Good…" He closed his eyes and leaned down, his lips parting slightly.

Len on instinct put her finger on his lips before they touched hers. "Ah, ah, ah. Not yet, Conner."

Conner made a face. "You're playing hard-to-get again."

"I always do. C'mon now. We had better get downstairs to breakfast before my folks start getting ideas."

"Don't you think they already have?" But he stood up, helping Len up. Len just gave a smile and started to put her textbooks in her backpack.

A woman's voice called from down the stairs. "Len? Conner? What are you two doing up there?"

"Nothing, Mom!" Len called back, giving Conner a look that clearly said, _I told you so._ "I'm just packing up my school stuff!"

"Well, you two had better hurry! You're going to be late, otherwise! Conner, I hope you like bacon omelets."

"Oh, do I ever!" Conner replied as his stomach, as if on cue, started to growl. "Thanks, Mrs. Terace!"

"Sure!"

Conner gave a glance at Len. "You almost ready?"

"Yeah, give me one more sec. I need to fix my bed." She started to flatten out the covers when her dream that she had just had came flooding back into her mind.

She must have made a shocked expression, for Conner noticed. "Len? You okay?"

Len immediately snapped out of her thoughts and gave a smile. "Yeah. I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

Conner, though, didn't let the matter subside. He had a hunch at what was wrong. "It's your dreams, isn't it? They're getting worse. C'mon, Len. You had better tell me. I can help you." His hand slowly began to lift up to her head.

Len, though, stepped backwards. "No, Conner. Not here. I'll be fine really."

"Len…"

"Please, Conner. If my folks find out what you are, they're never gonna let us see each other again."

"But you need my help right now. You're agitated, Len…"

"Yeah, agitated from you right at this moment!" She gave a sigh. "I'll tell you in the car on the way to school. Promise. Just don't use your mutant powers here. Please?" She gave him a pleading look.

Conner didn't like the idea, but he sighed and slowly nodded. "Fine. But you had better let me help you when we go to school."

"You're a doll, Conner." She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed her bag. "Let's go, then!" She grabbed his arm and ran down the steps and into the dining room where the rest of her family was.

Her mother had short, auburn hair and soft brown eyes. She had an apron on top of her work clothes as she set the rest of the breakfast meal on the table. Her father was flipping through the articles in the newspaper. Len had inherited her glossy red hair from him. There were some hairs of his that were starting to turn grayish-silver, a stunning contrast to the bright red of the rest of his head. His eyes were brown in color and very stern. He had a neatly trimmed mustache and wore small business-like glasses. Her little seven-year old brother, Sanny, was still in his pajamas and was struggling to keep hold of the ketchup bottle as his slightly chubby arms squeezed globs of ketchup onto his omelet. The front of his nightshirt was stained with ketchup and what looked like his orange juice.  
Messy or no, Len came up to her baby brother and squeezed the stuffing out of him. "Hey, squirts!"

Sanny tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but to no avail. "You're squeezing me, Len!"

"That's the point." She gave him a kiss on the top of his head before she sat down. San swiped at his head as if to try to wipe off the kiss that she had just planted on his head. Conner sat down in the vacant chair next to Len.

"Well, it's about time you two decided to come down," Len's father remarked over his newspaper. "We were beginning to wonder…"

"Dad!!" She gave him a slight slap on the shoulder. "Really, Dad!"

Mr. Terace smiled. "Just stating what I thought." He went back to reading his newspaper while Len and Conner quickly ate their meal. They soon finished their meal and said their goodbyes to the family. Just as they were about to walk out the front door, they heard Mr. Terace remark to his wife about an article in the newspaper.

"Can you believe that dam up in Alkali Lake ruptured like that? And they're still fixing it. Look at what they say here, Nita. What do you suppose happened?"

"Who knows. It may have been…_those_ people."

"Honestly, mutants are getting more dangerous as the years progress. I think the president's being too soft for his own good. He should reintroduce the Mutant Registration Act."

"Do you think that would even work, Sam? I mean, these mutants…who knows what kind of powers they can possess."

That was all the two teenagers heard. They quickly glanced at each other and walked out of the house and into Conner's car.

Conner was silent as he backed up out of the driveway and drove towards their school. Len knew that he was thinking about what her parents had just said about mutants. She was the only person in her family that knew that Conner was a mutant. She knew him for what he truly was and she didn't think of him any less. Len's parents had always disliked mutants for no particular reason, but that they just did. They tried to be in almost every group possible that tried to expose mutants to the real world. Len's views about mutants, oddly enough, were nothing like what her parents thought. She wanted to give mutants a chance to live the life that they so badly wanted – a life of freedom. Unfortunately, she still was her parents' daughter, and no matter how opposite her views were of mutants with her parents, there still was a tiny part of her that feared a mutant's touch.

She knew, though, that this was no time for her to be afraid. She took a silent breath and started to speak, knowing exactly what she needed to do to get her boyfriend out of his state of sadness, for she hated seeing him upset. "It was the same dream as always. This time, though, it played the whole thing. And you know what, Conner? It…it seems all so real…"

Conner was silently listening and the minute she stopped talking, he spoke up. "You can tell me, Len."

Len closed her eyes. "For a few weeks now I've been having these dreams. You know the one with that woman with white hair and the guy with the strange visor."

"Yeah, and with the woman that looks like an older version of you."

"Yeah…well…I dreamed the whole thing last night. Beginning to end."

"Starting with their problems with that jet, right?"

"Yeah. This time, though…this time…that girl…the…the one that looks like me…she dies, Conner…she dies…"

Conner didn't speak after this for a while. His silence bugged Len.

"C'mon, Conner. I…I need you to say something…"

"Well, the woman that dies, for sure isn't you." Len looked up into his face. "She doesn't have your eyes. You told me that. And besides, she seems like a mutant, too, I mean, considering that there's a blue guy there in the jet, right?"

"Yeah, that's true. But do you think that I'm dreaming something that happened or will happen?"

"I can't tell you that for sure. Maybe I can talk to a friend of mine I met over the Internet. He's a mutant, too. He lives with a bunch of other mutants at a school for our kind. The head of the school is pretty wise and has telepathy as his powers. He may know what to do."

"That'd be great if you could find that our for me."

"In the mean time, I can help soothe your mind a bit."

"Conner, you shouldn't do that so much. What if it has side effects?"

"Doubtful. C'mon, Len. You're stressed. Let me help you. Just this once."

So she wouldn't see him sad again, she gave a small smile and held out her hand. He took it in his and started his healing treatment. Len closed her eyes as she felt his healing power come into her. No matter how much she was afraid of his mutant abilities and other mutants' abilities, she liked his healing power. He sent visions of happy times into her mind. Childhood memories came flooding into her brain as well as pictures of both of them just enjoying each other's company at the park, in the moonlight, by the lake…

"Feeling better now?" Conner asked gently.

Len opened her eyes as she noticed that he was in the school parking lot. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Much." They both got out of the car and walked towards the school doors.

"Len, do you need a ride after school?"

Len shook her head. "Thanks, though."

"Well, if you need me, I'll have my pager on. I'm helping set up the stage for the matinee this whole day, so I won't see you during school. And the school's also got an evening performance tonight also. You can call me, though, 'kay? I'll come and get you if you need me."

"Aw, that's so sweet, Conner!" she gave him a hug.

Conner grinned. "Get used to it. That's how I'm gonna treat you for the rest of our days." This time, he kissed her on the cheek and said goodbye as they went their separate ways as the school day started.


	2. Headache

**Chapter 2: Headache**

By: Galadeidre

Len's mind kept wandering off during class. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't concentrate. The dream kept popping back into her brain. Luckily, she had study hour that period.

Unfortunately, her odd daze didn't go unnoticed.

Her best friend, Ana, noticed it first. She tapped Len lightly with her pencil and whispered, "You okay?"

Len snapped out of her dreams and gave a smile as she nodded. "Never been better."

Ana cocked an eyebrow. She had golden-blonde hair that was in two braids, tanned skin, and clear blue eyes. "You're such a liar."

Len sighed. "I just had a weird dream last night."

"About what?"

"Nothing much. Just weird."

"Was it about Conner?"

"No! Why'd you think that?"

"Dunno. I guess 'cause your boyfriend's weird." Ana didn't know Conner's secret, but she had always noticed something different about Conner. She could never put her finger on it, though.

Len gave a small laugh and shook her head. "Every time I say that something's weird, you always say it has to do with Conner."

"Is there anything wrong with that? I'm not accusing him or anything."

"Sure." They continued speaking, which Len was happy about. This gave her the opportunity of getting her mind off of her dreams. What bugged her, though, was why her dreams wouldn't go away during the daytime.

The class soon ended, and Len started packing her books, saying goodbye to Ana. She thought that this would be the end of her dream reoccurrences.

It was only the start.

As she was about to leave the classroom, a boy the same age as her, passed by to sit down in his seat. Len recognized the boy to be one of the mutants attending the high school. If she remembered correctly, his mutant powers had to do with forming gusts of wind and flying. He had never liked her or for that matter any other humans, but he had never said anything out loud as to hint that he was a mutant.

Which was what startled Len.

_Human scum_.

Len turned around at the sound of this. "Excuse me?"

The boy made a face of dislike and distrust and said, "I didn't say anything. What d'you think I said?"

Len stammered for a reply. "Uh…uh nothing. It's nothing." She quickly walked out of the classroom and into the crowded hallway, wondering what had just happened back there. She was sure she had heard him say 'human scum', but he had denied it and he looked completely shocked. But Len was sure that she had heard someone say those two words, and he had been the only one in the room at that time.

As she pondered this, that was when the headache started.

* * *

A/N: Ok…so that was a short chapter, but I just decided to stop there. I just kinda felt that it should end there. So…on to the third chapter!!! (Marching forward...left...left...left right left...) 


	3. Mind Problems

**Chapter 3: Mind Problems**

By: Galadeidre

"Sorry I'm late, Ms. Heinrich. I wasn't feeling too good. I was in the bathroom for a bit." Len stopped to catch her breath at the door where her English teacher was watching her.

A look of worry formed on the young teacher's face. "Are you all right, Len? You do look a bit pale. Maybe you should go to the nurse…"

Len shook her head as she continued to catch her breath. "No. 's okay. I just need to take a breather."

"Well, if you think you're up to it, I'll let you take the test today. Unless you want to just do it tomorrow."

"No, I'll be fine. Really, Ms. H. I'll be fine." Len gave a smile, though she wasn't completely telling the truth.

The headache had gotten just a bit worse…

…well…maybe a bit more than just a bit worse…

Len sat down, giving her English teacher a smile as she was handed the test. As she opened up her purse to find a pencil, she took a swift glance around the room to clear her head just a bit.

It was a full class that morning, she noticed. All were there, humans and…the others. She drifted her eyes across the mutants within her classroom that were in her line of vision. She sat in the second to last row, so she had a pretty good view of almost everyone.

She counted, though she knew full well that seven of the twenty-two in her classroom, including herself, were mutants. There was a flyer in the first row and a mutant of electricity and a shapeshifter in the second. In her row, the fourth row, the two seats farthest to the left were occupied by twins: one with fire and the other with water. The person on Len's right side she knew to be a mutant of speed. She had seen him talk with Conner before, appearing as if out of nowhere and then speeding away in a flash.

Marron, the last mutant that was in her classroom, had a story to tell. Len didn't look behind her, for that was where the young mutant sat, but she recalled that she hadn't been a mutant for very long. Len remembered in her freshman year how Marron had been rushed to the hospital after she had fainted in the hallway. She had been gone for a good month and a half. Conner had visited her, impelled by his benevolent conscience. Len recalled that it was Conner who had brought her to school on her first day back. Apparently, she had gone bald during her days in the hospital, but her hair was starting to grow back by the time she returned.

She never told exactly what had happened to her, but rumors started, saying that she had had a brain tumor and had undergone surgery, which lasted several days. The recuperating process had taken longer than was expected. It was a pretty good rumor, but only the mutants and a select few humans who were pro-mutant knew the truth. Conner had told Len a few days after Marron had returned: she had turned mutant. Her constant migraines and frequent fainting spells had been a sign of her telepathy starting to appear. He told Len that she had started receiving guidance from a certain professor while she was at the hospital. He had never seen him in person, but whoever the professor was, he had definitely done his job. Marron came back to school with an air of confidence. Just like the other mutants, she kept her powers a secret, but she soon became a leader in the secret mutant group that had been formed at the high school.

_Len…_, Len gave a slight start as she heard Marron's voice inside her head. _You'd better get a move on that test of yours._

Len didn't turn around to look at Marron, but she gave a small smile of thanks and started her exam. She twirled her pencil between her fingers and glanced down at the first question: _When is it necessary to use an ellipses?_

Len smiled. English was her favorite subject, so this test would be easy for her. She poised her pencil down onto the paper, about to write the answer.

Only she couldn't remember it.

Len frowned and closed her eyes. _Ellipses…you use an ellipses when…when…_ Len sighed in frustration. She was sure that she had known the answer just a few seconds ago. Why was it not coming to her now?

Unbeknownst to her and most of the classroom was that a few small objects were starting to levitate. The mutants had already noticed and were stealing glances backwards to the telepath, Marron.

But it wasn't Marron who was doing the levitating.

Marron was staring straight at the frustrated Len, who was rubbing her temples of her forehead – her headache was definitely not helping her think.

Len shook her head slightly as if to try and rid some of her headache, but it persisted. She finally decided to ignore it as best as she could and looked down to the next question: _Explain the differences between the usages of parentheses and brackets._ Len frowned once more and squeezed her pencil. _I know all this…but why am I drawing a blank?_ She dropped her pencil and rubbed at her temples once more.

Marron noticed a few of the backpacks on the floor shift ever so slightly – but there was not a hand nor foot shifting them.

Len found herself flipping through the test packet to find a question – any question – that she could answer. She read every single one, but she couldn't answer any. _What's going on with me?_ Len dropped her face into her hands as she tried hard to think through her headache.

Marron wasn't paying attention to the last few questions of her test anymore, but was looking at the board up front behind Ms. Heinrich's desk – the markers and eraser that were resting on the board stand were silently and swiftly sliding back and forth on the board stand. Luckily, no one was paying attention to the front of the classroom. Marron decided that it was time she took action – before it was too late.

Quickly, Marron finished the last questions of her test, not caring if they were right or not and then silently took out a piece of scratch paper. She scribbled a note onto the blank sheet and folded it several times. Swiftly, she rose up out of her chair and walked up the aisle, silently placing the note on the speed mutant's desk. The speed mutant took one look at the folded piece of paper and immediately grabbed it, hiding it from view in his pocket.

Marron handed her test paper to her teacher and whispered something in her ear. Ms. Heinrich gave a glance at her, then at Len, then stood up. She walked to Len's desk, where Len was shaking her head in the palms of her hand, and softly spoke into Len's ear.

"Len, I think you should go with Marron to the nurse's office."

Len glanced up at her teacher, about to protest, but saw Marron's face and thought it over. "Thanks, Ms. Heinrich. I think I should go. I can't seem to concentrate."

Ms. Heinrich nodded. "I think it's for the best." With that, she turned and walked back to her desk, nodding at Marron, who nodded back.

Marron then gave a glance at Len and then quickly took her things from underneath her desk. As she did so, she muttered in Len's head, _You and I need to talk._

_What do you mean? Right now?_

_Yes. Now._ They quickly walked out of the room and into the empty hallway.

Inside the classroom, nobody noticed the markers and eraser abruptly stop up on the board.

The speed mutant swiftly opened up the letter and quickly read it, his eyes growing wide.


	4. The Origin of the Shelter

**Chapter 4: The Origin of the Shelter**

By: Galadeidre

Marron quickly scanned the hallways to make sure no one was there. In a flash, she grabbed Len by her arm and shoved her quickly into the girls' bathroom.

Len stifled a gasp and immediately whirred around to face the telepath. Her face was filled with confusion, slight anger, as well as a hint of fear. "What's this all about, Marron? I haven't done anything wrong have I?"

Marron didn't answer. She walked to the farthest end of the bathroom from the door and pulled out her cell phone. Punching a few buttons, she glanced up at Len and signaled for her to get away from the door. Someone picked up on the other end of the phone and Marron started to speak, rubbing the back of her neck as she paced back and forth restlessly. "Yeah…I'm in the first floor girl's bathroom on the southern end…mm hmm…yeah, I have Len with me…I know, I know…don't question what I'm doing…yes, I do know what I'm doing…just get over here now before class ends." She gave a sigh as she closed the lid on her phone.

Len was growing impatient. "Marron, what's this all about?"

Marron looked up at Len with her dark purple, mutation-trigged eyes, but didn't say a word.

Len was starting to get scared. "Did I do something wrong?"

Marron gave a smirk at this. "Len, hon, if you had done something wrong to tick us mutants off, well, you wouldn't be talking to me."

After she had said this, there was a slight swooshing sound and one of the janitors that worked at the high school was standing in front of Len and Marron.

Len jumped back in surprise at what she saw, but Marron didn't seem to be at all shocked. The janitor was a young man in his early thirties that had been working at the high school for several years. His hair was a white-blond color and his eyes were gray-green. His face was tanned from working in the sun; Len recalled that his name was Jeff.

"Len," Marron started. "You probably know him. His name's Jeff, and I want you to go with him for now."

"What? To where?"

"To where most of us mutants hang out when we have nowhere else to go. Don't worry. Jeff isn't gonna hurt you. In fact, he's part of the mutant group here. He helps me when sudden incidents like this occur."

"What do you mean, 'sudden incidents like this'?" Len narrowed her eyes, suspecting that Marron was hiding something from her.

Marron, though, just shook her head. "Later. Not now. It's not a good time to ask, and we're not in one of the best areas to be talking." She glanced at the door as she said this. Confirming that no one was coming, she turned to Jeff. "Bring her to the Shelter, and make sure no one sees. I'll make sure the attendance and the nurse are informed that she's gone home. I doubt that she'll be coming back to school today."

"What should I tell Z?" Jeff asked.

"Tell her that I've told you to bring her there and that she's been getting headaches and may need to rest. Z will take care of the rest."

Jeff nodded and Marron turned back to Len. She gave the human a reassuring smile and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. You're gonna be taken care of." With that said and a nod in Jeff's direction, she turned on her heel and walked out of the bathroom.

Len didn't know what to do, but Jeff gave her a reassuring smile. "Here. Take my hand. We'd better get a move on it before anything goes wrong."

Len hesitated a moment longer before deciding that if Conor could trust Marron, and Marron trusted Jeff, Jeff was reliable enough. She took his hand and Jeff gave a nod.

It felt weird, Jeff's mutant power. She heard a weird swoosh and they were immersed into darkness. It was only for a moment, though. In a blink of an eye, Len was stumbling to regain balance on her feet that had suddenly hit hard ground. Jeff immediately caught her before she fell, letting her go almost immediately after she had regained composure, respecting her distance and wariness of him. "Come on," he said, "it's in the forest."

Len looked at the forest that had grown quite thick and brambly as it was untouched by any human hands. It was the forest that had grown in back of the high school, complete with small ponds here and there.

"Careful now," Jeff said cheerfully. "It might be difficult in some parts, 'cause there's no beaten path. That would've been too easy for the humans to follow. It would've led them straight to the Shelter."

"The Shelter?" Len asked, one eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah, it's not such a bad place. You'll see." He crouched underneath a bundle of tangled branches and lifted them up for her to walk underneath.

They continued to walk through the forest. It must've been a few minutes before they began to speak again to each other, Len starting, for she was curious to know why she was being brought to a hideout of mutants.

"So why am I going to this Shelter and not home?"

Jeff shrugged. "I'm never told why, I just do what I'm told."

"Well, then, how do you know that what you're doing is right?"

Jeff gave a small smile. "These mutants…well, you do know that this secret mutant club hasn't been around for that long of a time yet. I'd say about five-six years, tops. I've been working here for about a good ten years or so, and I was real lonely. Nobody that I knew here was doin' anythin' about us mutants. I only knew of a few kids that were mutants. Well, five-six years ago, a strong mutant transferred to this school, named Von."

"Von?" Len turned to look at him. "Von Debler? Isn't he Marron's man?"

Jeff nodded. "They make a handsome couple, don't you think?"

"I didn't know he was a mutie."

"At the time, neither did I. He was a tough one, though. Always competing. Every time he got hurt while playing sports, he'd just shrug it off and say, 'It'll heal'. I thought then that he was just being tough and all. He was real good at hiding his powers."

"You mean, he's got healing powers?"

Jeff gave another nod. "He was smart, too. Real smart. He could even tell if you were a mutie or not, for the most part. He must've noticed a lot of mutants, 'cause he rounded up some of his friends that he knew were pro-mutant or mutants themselves and started building the Shelter in the forest. Nobody knew about it, and it only took them about two months to get the whole thing built. Then again, they had a lot of help from humans and mutants that were trustworthy.

"Then he contacted a close mutant friend of his, nicknamed Chameleon, and rightly so. He made a huge stack of fliers that proposed a meeting with all mutants at the high school, young and old, at the edge of the forest on a certain night. Then he had his friend, Chameleon, rigged the fliers so that they were invisible to the human eye. Only mutants could see the fliers, and he and some of his friends, all mutants of course, secretly posted the fliers everywhere. There wasn't a wall that wasn't plastered with at least two."

"And I'm guessing that the fliers worked? The meeting was successful?"

"Was it ever," Jeff remarked. "Even some of the teachers that were mutants came to the meeting, just to see how it was going to be run. I went, and that's when I found out that Von was a mutant. A lot of the mutant kids were shocked to find out that Von was like them, but they were relieved. They got a lot done that night. Von had it all planned out, right to the end. They elected Von as leader, obviously, four more co-leaders under him, two secretaries, a few medics and storage personnel, and a delivery boy, which was me."

"How'd they decide?"

"By looking at the person's mutant powers. I was chosen as delivery boy because of my easy access to anywhere in the building because of my job and also because of my teleporting abilities. There's another delivery boy if ever something happens to me. Von didn't need to be determined as leader by way of his powers. It was unanimous." He gave a smile at this.

"So it's been running well ever since?"

Jeff nodded. "Nothing's gone wrong. Then again, we've got excellent leaders. Every fall, after the first week of school, we hold a mandatory meeting to welcome the new incoming freshmen muties. We always have a stack of fliers ready to post onto the walls for the whole year so that no mutant will be left out of the club. And at the end of each school year, we have another mandatory meeting to say farewell to the seniors and have a reelection if that senior had held a position during their high school years."

"Who's the leader now, then? Von, I know for a fact, is out of high school."

"He's still the leader. He decided that he'd just attend college here, so he could stay close to the group that he founded. Besides, I believe he's running his own advertising company here."

Len nodded.

"Ah, here we are." Jeff stopped in front of an old tree and gazed at it from top to bottom. "Welcome to the Shelter, Len."

Len almost choked. "_This_ is the Shelter? Some place this is. It's an old, rotting tree."

Jeff smiled and shook his head. "Don't judge a book by its cover." He walked over in between two of the tree's large roots and started feeling the ground.

"Yeah, I've definitely heard that saying before…" but she was now staring at what she saw in front of her.

Jeff had found a hole in the ground and had pulled on it, revealing a hidden trapdoor. Below the trapdoor was a flight of stone steps that led down deeper into the ground. The walls were concrete and a small keypad could be seen near the top of the stairs. Jeff pushed a few of the buttons on the keypad and immediately, the stairs and walls were lit by fluorescent lights. Jeff nodded for Len to go in and he followed her. After he had made sure that the trapdoor was shut securely above him, he started walking down the steps, Len following close behind, their footsteps echoing eerily off the walls.


	5. Within the Shelter

**Chapter 5: Within the Shelter**

By: Galadeidre

**Maid of the Mer** – so srry I didn't update sooner! I really wanted to, 'cept school has been horror for me (I'm sure u've been there b4). But I'd still like a muffin! What flavor's d'ya got? And I'll try updating much sooner! Thanks for reading!

**Horsecrazy** – I don't think that this is the fanfic that I changed my rating. I think it was the other one 'cause it might get a little bit more detailed (srry!) But thanks for reading anyways!

To the others that have started reading my story…srry I didn't update sooner! I'm gonna try to update faster in the future! Right now, I hope you still read and review! Thanks!

* * *

It was cold – real cold. Len hugged herself in an effort to get warm, but it didn't stop her teeth from chattering. She was about to ask Jeff how much longer it was to the Shelter, but they suddenly stopped, and she noticed that they were at the bottom of the steps with a door just a few feet ahead of them. 

Jeff walked forward and lightly rapped on the cold metal door. Len rubbed her arms and watched with curiosity. A window slot slid open, after a few moments, and Len saw a pair of extraordinary light-gray – almost white – eyes.

Jeff gave a nod as he glanced at the eyes through the window slot before the window was covered once more. There were a few clicks and shuffles behind the door before it swung open.

The owner with gray-white eyes stood before them. She was slight in figure, Len noticed, and didn't seem to be much older than Len herself. Her skin was a rich light-brown color and she wore a loose, turquoise robe with a golden silk collar dotted with small golden sequins and slight embroidered images. Her hair color was as extraordinary as her eye color – pure white tresses with strands of gold here and there that sparkled in the light.

The strange woman, no doubt a mutant, gave a small glance at Len and nodded before she turned to look at Jeff. "Did Marron give any instructions?"

The mutant's soft voice, rippling like a little brook, brought Len back to reality, making her realize that she had been gaping at the mutant with her mouth open. Len slightly shook her head and listened to the two mutants as Jeff relayed Marron's instructions.

The strange mutant nodded and stepped aside beckoning them into the room. Len quickly looked around at her new surroundings as she stepped through the threshold.

Surprisingly, the Shelter was quite large…no…_very_ large. It was practically an underground mansion. There were five small steps that led into what seemed to be the meeting or living room. It was circular in shape with different level rings to it. There were four levels of circles. The center and lowest circle was occupied only by a circular black rug. The other three levels contained chairs, couches, and small tables evenly dispersed throughout. There were a few long tables on the second level down that were across the room from the entrance door, obviously seating the people with more higher positions in the mutant office. Those chairs were empty as of now, but a few of the other couches and chairs were occupied by mutants, either sleeping, eating, or reading something.

Outside the circular living room, several different rooms branched off the first ring level. To her right was the kitchen area with a round wooden table. Next to the kitchen was a room with four beds, one of which was occupied by a teenage boy that Len recognized. To the far end on the right side of the living room, there seemed to be a hospital wing. Next to that was another room filled with two beanbags, a round table for six, and four sets of bunk beds. A tiny black-haired girl, a young freshman, was curled up fast asleep in one of the bean bags. Another girl who looked almost albino, except for her yellow-green eyes, had just awoken from one of the top bunks. She stretched, jumped, and started crawling on the ceiling towards the kitchen with a yawn.

Len continued to observe the rest of the room. To the left of the crawling-mutant's room, a set of several steps led to a larger, clearer room. Len squinted and was surprised to see that it was a swimming pool. Beside the pool, on the left side of the room, there was a small, slanted hallway that led to two doors – a men's bathroom and a women's bathroom. The room beside that was shut with two sliding doors, and the last area, on the left side nearest to the stairs, was also concealed, this time with curtains. In front of the curtains there were two covered holes that obviously led to another underground room. There was a yellowish warm glow emitting from behind the curtains.

"You are Conner's friend? And Marron's?"

Len jerked up with a start again and turned to look at the female mutant. "I'm Conner's girlfriend, Lenette Terace."

The mutant nodded in understanding. "My name is Z."

"Z?" Len cocked one eyebrow.

The female mutant smiled. "Forgive me. My real name is not Z, but that is my nickname."

"Mind telling me the reason?"

Z smiled again. "Let us say that my real name is not of any importance, nor is it of any use down here."

Len frowned. "Right."

"Come, then." Z directed an arm inward into the Shelter. "And, welcome to the Shelter."

By this time, most of the mutants that were there had noticed Len. Some had even recognized her. A boy the same age as Len stood out of his seat and stared. "Len? What are you doing here?"

Len tried to find an answer.

Another mutant that had just awoken from his sleep, crankily spoke up for her. "Hawk, here, asked you a question. Y'mind answering it? What would a human snot like you be doin' down here?" He held his hand, palm up. A small electric ball formed above his palm. Len gasped and started to inch backwards.

"Bolt, don't," Jeff warned, walking in front of Len.

Bolt stared at him, incredulous. "You're protecting her? What's she done to make you indebted to a human like her?"

"Marron told me to bring her here."

"Has that girl's telepathy messed with her mind?" He stood up from his chair, and suddenly his whole body was emitting small strands of electricity. Some of the on-looking mutants started whispering amongst themselves. Len could hear the crackling of the electricity in the air, and felt some of her hair start rising.

Bolt started walking towards Jeff and Len. "You know you don't stand a chance against me, Jeff. Yeah, I may only be a senior and you're twice my age, but I have twice the power." Jeff stood his ground as Len started whimpering.

Suddenly, a light-brown hand was placed gently on Bolt. Z's gray-white eyes stared straight into Bolt's dark brown eyes. "Some things may be answered in due time, Alexander, and remember…I have more power than you times five."

Bolt gave a scowl, and muttered to Z, "She's a pathetic human. Her loss won't affect anything. Besides, I can't just let a human waltz in and out of the Shelter."

"Bolt, sit down," Z ordered softly. Suddenly, Bolt started to walk backwards and back into his chair. He gave another scowl. "You and your powers, Z. One day, you'll see. I'll get stronger than you."

The black-haired freshman girl that had been sleeping in the beanbag and was now awake, walked over to Bolt and embraced him. "Alex, don't do that please. She's only a young girl like me. We were like her once."

"That was before, sis." Bolt retorted, glaring at her. "This is now."

"I will do what Marron says, and you may ask her your questions when you see her," Z concluded.

"Fine. I think I will do that."

Z sighed and turned back to Len, who was peeking from around Jeff. "Do not worry, Lenette. You will be fine. He knows his place."

"I don't know if I want to be here anymore." Suddenly, the headache returned and she gave a groan as she grabbed her head and fell to the ground. Z gracefully knelt beside her, helping her back up. "Come. You may sleep in my quarters, for no one is allowed in there without my consent. You'll be safe in there." She gave a look back at Bolt as she spoke this. Bolt just snorted and looked away. Z then turned back to Jeff. "Thank you for bringing her here, Jeff." Jeff nodded and walked out of the Shelter, closing the door behind him. He then teleported up the stairs and out of view.

Z looked back to Len, whose headache had not subsided. Z's face was filled with worry and something that looked like confusion as she brought Len into the room behind the curtains. Several candles had been lit all around the room, giving the room a warm and eerie glow. Z gently helped Len lay down on the soft mattress and pulled a blanket over her shoulders. "Sleep now, Lenette. Rest well."

"I can't. I should tell Conner. He'll want to know…"

"Do not worry about that. I'll have someone inform him of where you are. Right now, rest…" Z gently placed her forefinger on Len's forehead, and Len was immediately fast asleep.

Z watched her for a few more moments and then walked out of the room. The other mutants there were watching her as she walked into the living room.

"Z," Hawk started quietly. "Do you know why Marron decided to bring her here?"

"I think we'd all like to know," Bolt spoke up. His voice, oddly enough, didn't sound as if he was angry at all. He seemed more worried and afraid. "That's Conner's woman. If anything's to happen to her…"

"We could all be in a large world of hurt," the yellow-eyed crawler spoke up. She jumped down from the ceiling and landed gracefully onto one of the empty tables. "You know how well-known her parents are. They'll immediately assume that us mutants did something to her." Bolt and Hawk gave a nod in agreement.

Z just shook her head. "I do not know Marron's reasons for bringing her here. What I do know, though, is that we'd better take care of Lenette. Something is amiss with her."

"What do you mean by that?" Hawk asked. "What's amiss?"

"I think Marron would know that answer," Z replied.

"Let's hope it's a good answer," Bolt's sister replied quietly.

"Hate to inform you, sis," Bolt muttered. He gave a sigh as he finished his statement. "Normally, when a human's brought here, it's never a good answer."

Z nodded her head in agreement and looked back at the curtains of her room with the sleeping occupant. "I'm afraid Lenette may be in a world of hurt soon…"


	6. Deathly Realization

**Chapter 6: Deathly Realization**

By: Galadeidre

**A/N:** To those who have reviewed my story...thanks so much! I really really appreaciate it!

**Maid of the Mer** - Thanks for the chocolate muffin! I absolutely love chocolate!

**Horsecrazy** - I'm glad you're 'impatiently waiting and horsecrazy'!

**My PenName is ...** - I told you that they weren't gonna accept just the three dots...thanks for reviewing!

**mm4ever2gether** - sorry I didn't update sooner...been too busy, but here's the next chapter!

Hope you guys (and the rest of you readers) enjoy this chapter!

Galadeidre

* * *

Lenette shifted as she slowly began to wake up. She felt the bed around her: light, silky covers, soft pillows, candles lit all around her…

She jerked up out of bed with a start, panicking as she realized that this was definitely not her bedroom. It took her a few moments before she remembered where she was.

But why was she there in the first place?

Low voices drifted from the other side of the curtains. Len tried to listen as she realized that there was a lot more people than there had been before. How long had she slept?

"Should we keep her hidden here?"

"We can't. You know that. I mean, look what she did to Z!"

"That was an accident, for sure. She didn't seem to realize what she was doing."

"She needs professional help. We don't have that here."

"How 'bout you, Marron? Can't you help her? She's got the same thing you have."

"I'm not so sure that it's the same thing. I mean, I couldn't do that to Z."

"Whatever the reason, she's got to go. For now. Maybe after she's learned how to control her powers, she can come stay here."

"So you mean we kick her out of the Shelter?"

"We've never done that before, and we're not gonna start now."

"We're not gonna kick her out. But she needs help from somebody that can help her. This is a 'shelter'. A home for those that need to have a home for a while. How can that be if there's a potential threat within the Shelter? It wouldn't be a home."

"Each of us is a potential threat if we put our mind to it."

"That's if we _do_ put our minds to it. We have control. She doesn't."

"She's new at this. We all were at one point."

"Yeah, but none of us could actually kill somebody when our powers kicked in."

"Z's not dead."

"Yeah, but close to it."

"We should treat her well. I mean, she is, after all Conner's girl."

"Yeah, and her folks would skin us alive if they knew what she was."

"Are you just protecting her because she's Conner's girl?"

"That's not the only reason. She's one of us."

"She's a threat! A deadly mutant! We need to find someone that can help her control her powers. Then she can stay."

This was all that Len had to hear. She walked out through the curtains, anger rising, as she screamed at them all. "That's not true! I'm not a mutant!"

Many pairs of eyes stared at her. Compared to the scarce few that she had seen when she had first come into the Shelter, the whole living room and beyond was filled. Several mutants were standing and leaning on walls, and the tables for the officers were filled. It seemed all of the mutants from the high school were here, including janitors and teachers. Len recognized several of them, including Jeff and the wind mutant that she had passed that she could've sworn had said 'human scum'. Z was nowhere to be seen.

"Len…" Marron stood up from where she had been sitting at the long table.

Len didn't wait for her to continue. "I'm no mutie. I'm a human! And always will be!" Several of the mutants nearest to Len inched away just ever so slightly as she walked forward, glaring at Marron.

"It's not the end of the world if you're a mutie, Len." This was a deep, calm voice that came from a handsome, young man in his early twenties that was seated beside Marron. He had short light brown hair and a small goatee. All the mutants turned to look towards him, as if wondering what he would do next. He remained seated in his chair, relaxed and calm, as he calmly stared in Len's direction. His eyes were a deep brown that didn't give anything away, but did not stare at Len in an accusing manner. "You being a mutant is the same as all of us being mutants. We've all had our share of problems. Believe me, we've all had to go through what you're going through."

Len shook her head as she continued to stare at this mutant, slowly realizing that this was Von. It seemed that her mind was slow to react on many things. "You've got no proof. I haven't done anything to show that I'm a mutant. I don't believe you."

Someone grabbed her arm and dragged her into the center of the room. Marron and several other mutants yelled for Len's captor to release her. He did – after he had dragged her towards the black rug on the lowest level so she could see what was on the rug.

Z was laying on the rug, stiff as a board, her white eyes wide open and staring straight at the ceiling. Her mouth was slightly open, an outline of where blood had trickled down on the corner of her chin. Her chest seemed to ever so slightly rise up and down.

Len backed away, her eyes glued at the still figure in the center of the living room. "No…I…I didn't…she was…she was fine when I last saw her…she…I…"

"This isn't Len's fault," Bolt muttered from across the room. His eyes looked at Len with pity. "We all know that. Mutant abilities come as they do, weak, powerful, in between. We saw what happened. She was sleep-walking."

"Yeah, and attacking Z as she did so," another mutant, a young female, remarked accusingly.

"Len." Hawk had walked over to where Len was kneeling and placed a hand on her shoulder. He continued to speak gently. "No one's blaming you for what happened." Several mutants made small snorts.

Len looked up and shook her head. "I didn't do this. I…I couldn't have."

"Have Reminisce show her what she did!" Another mutant yelled out. "She wants proof that she's a mutant! Reminisce! Go and show her the proof!"

Von sighed heavily and nodded. "It's only fair. Reminisce." He looked to the person seated at the long table to his right. The man beside Von had pale, ghostly skin with sunken cheeks. His hair had been black, but was starting to turn white. There were deep lines on his face and he was frail-looking. His eyes, though, were as black as could be and very sharp. Len slowly realized that this was her science teacher.

Reminisce gave a small nod and stood up. Like a shadow, he glided towards where Len was kneeling and knelt down beside her. He looked into her eyes with a look of sadness.

Len, on instinct, backed away. "Mr. Ferinall…"

"I'm sorry, Len, to have to do this." He placed his hands on the sides of her face. Len gave a fearful gasp.

"Don't worry, Len," Marron replied, still standing. "He won't hurt you. He's just going to show you what happened while you were asleep." The telepath's reassuring words did not help Len, but she obeyed and didn't back away any further from the old mutant.

Visions started filling Len's mind as she stared blank-eyed at the ceiling…

* * *

_Z walked out of the kitchen with a wet washcloth in her hand. The Shelter was filled with several more occupants than before._

_Bolt looked up. "What are you doing?"_

_"Tending to my patient."_

_"How's Len?"_

_"Sleeping well…for the most part."_

_Bolt narrowed his eyes as Hawk looked up to listen to the conversation._

_"What do you mean 'for the most part'?" Bolt asked._

_Z sighed and turned to Bolt. "I have taken care of many mutants in my time. I have seen them change from humans to mutants. I have done this for over seventy-five years, Alexander. I thought I would know how to handle any possible situation. But Len…she is not a mutant."_

_"And?"_

_Z sighed again. "I don't think she's merely a human, either."_

_"Maybe," Hawk started. "It's just the change from human to mutant, except the process is taking longer."_

_"I'm not sure. She's been having nightmares. She just keeps tossing and turning. I don't know what she's dreaming."_

_"Well, you can find out, can't you?"_

_Z nodded. "But for some reason, I seem to be…hesitant."_

_"Hesitant?" Bolt asked._

_"Yes, hesitant. Or…afraid."_

_"Afraid? You, Z?" Bolt asked incredulous. _

_"I don't know why. There's something within Len that makes me wary of trying to see what is in her mind." Z sighed again. "But I think it would be best if I tried to find that dream of hers. Maybe I can help her in some way."_

_"Like how Conner heals people?" Hawk asked._

_"He'd probably know how to handle this situation better than any one of us," Bolt put in. He gave a frown. "Do you think he feels the same thing your feeling, Z? The wariness part of it?"_

_"I don't know." _

_Suddenly, the patient within the candlelit room started to moan and whimper. Z turned and swiftly entered into the room, watching Len as she tossed and turned on the bed sheet, her forehead beaded with sweat. _

_Bolt entered into the room, followed by Hawk. "She looks sick."_

_"Does she have a fever or something?"_

_Z shook her head. "No. It is her nightmares." She stepped forward, her hand outstretched towards Len's forehead._

_"Careful, Z," Bolt whispered. _

_Slowly, Z placed her hand on Len's forehead and knelt down beside the bed. She closed her eyes. For a moment nothing happened._

_"Do you see something?" Hawk asked._

_Z answered, her eyes still closed. She had a confused look on her face. "It is difficult to comprehend this. There are visions, but they're…scattered. Various. My mind cannot comprehend these visions. My powers can't seem to decipher anything that she is dreaming."_

_"Well, maybe it's just gonna take time…Z? Z!" Hawk knelt down as he noticed Z start to shake uncontrollably. He took her hand off of Len and gripped her shoulders. Z was starting to make gurgling sounds within her mouth as Hawk shook her. She wouldn't stop shaking._

_"What the heck's wrong with her?" Bolt asked, looking back and forth from Len to Z. "Hawk? What's the matter?"_

_"She doesn't seem to be responding," Hawk muttered. He stopped shaking Z and she fell to the floor, convulsing. Hawk rolled her to her side and looked up, noticing several other mutants peering in through the curtains, curious as to what was happening. "Quick! Call for help! Get one of the medics here! And someone contact Von or Marron! Tell them something's wrong with Z!" Immediately, the mutants at the curtains dispersed and started searching for help. _

_"Alex! Help me here!"_

_But Bolt was looking at Len, who was breathing heavily and moaning. Her whole body was perspiring, and her face was twisted into an expression of pure terror. _

_That's when she started screaming and flailing her arms in every direction._

_"What happened!" Hawk asked, as he struggled to hold Z._

_Bolt, now, was trying to keep Len down onto the bed. "I don't know! What about Z? Try to get her to snap out of it!"_

_Hawk turned Z onto her back. "Z! Z! Can you hear us! Z!"_

_Z made a few gurgling noises and opened her eyes. _

_"My God…" Hawk muttered. Bolt looked to the side of the bed, and his eyes went wide. "What is that?"_

_Z's eyes weren't the gray-white that they had been before. There were visions, pictures, that were dancing through her eyes. They continued to change, but they couldn't seem to figure out what the pictures were._

_"What's going on here?" a female voice demanded. Marron stepped into the bedroom. "Bolt? Hawk? You're not allowed in this room. What's the matter? Von's on his way, and this better be urgent."_

_Hawk and Bolt were still staring at Z and didn't answer. Marron sighed and walked over to see what they were staring at. Her eyes widened as well. "What the heck is that?" She knelt down beside Z and began to slap her face, gently. "Z? Z! Wake up! What's happening to you!" _

_Len screamed again, which drove the three other mutants' eyes towards her. _

_"You guys! I can't hold on to her! Something's…something's pushing me away!" And, indeed, there was. Bolt suddenly was afloat and thrown into the wall. Marron and Hawk were also flung to the other side._

_Marron groaned and looked up. Len was sitting up and screaming as she held her head._

_Z was starting to float upwards. She coughed, and a trickle of blood flowed down the side of her mouth. _

_"Good God…" Marron muttered in horror. "Len's killing her from the inside…"_

_"What!" Both Bolt and Hawk exclaimed. _

_"That can't be!" Bolt continued. "Z said Len wasn't a mutant!"_

_"And not a human either, Bolt!" Hawk replied._

_"Something's wrong…" Marron muttered. She closed her eyes, trying to use her powers to reach Z. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. "Z can hear us! She's alive! Z! Tell Len to stop!"_

_Z made another gurgling sound, and Len screamed. Len suddenly lifted her arms up and Z gave a cough. Len flung her arms in front of her and Z, still floating, was thrown through the curtains and out into the living room. _

_"No…Z!" Marron ran out of the room and to where Z had been thrown, the other two mutants following her. Several other mutants crowded around, confused as to what was going on._

_A scream came from the curtains and Marron looked up to see Len standing in front of the curtains. Len was holding her head and shaking it from side to side as if it was in pain. _

_"Len!" Marron screamed, running to her and grabbing her arms. "Len! You've got to stop this! Stop it! LEN!"_

_Len screamed and pushed Marron away. She walked towards Z and lifted up her arms. Z started to float once again and the other mutants backed away in fear. Her eyes were still open, and the visions that were in her eyes had not ceased. _

_Marron immediately realized what was going to happen. "NO! LEN! DON'T!" _

_But it was too late. _

_Z was flung to the other side of the room, where she collapsed onto the ground, her eyes back to their normal white color. She didn't move nor make a sound._

_Len had stopped screaming and had also fallen to the ground, fast asleep and breathing evenly. _

_The rest of the mutants just stood silently where they were. _

_Marron was close to tears. She ran a hand through her hair and took her cell phone out, punching a few numbers. After the first ring, a voice answered on the other end. "Von? Yeah…we need to have a meeting tonight. Yeah. Z's knocked out. Len did it. No, not intentionally, at least I don't think…uh huh. I know, Von. I know that can't be possible, but it's true. Z's out. Yes. Thank you. Later." She sighed as she closed her phone and looked at everyone else. They were all staring at her. Marron took a deep breath and recollected herself. "Let's clean up this mess now. Bolt, bring Len back into Z's room. Hawk, put Z on the rug. We're gonna have a meeting tonight."_

_The mutants began to clean the area. Bolt picked up Len and began to carry her back to Z's room. As he passed Marron, he glanced at her. "No one's ever been able to hurt Z like that. No one. So why now? And why Len?"_

_"Believe me, Bolt, I wish I had that answer," Marron muttered…

* * *

_

Len blinked several times as she breathed heavily on the floor where she was sitting. Reminisce slowly placed his hands on his lap and sighed, his eyes closed. There seemed to be a few more wrinkles on his brow as if this was a difficult task for him, which may have been the case.

Len glanced at Z, her eyes filling with tears as she shook her head in disbelief. "I…I couldn't have…I didn't mean to…I…I didn't…" That was all that she could say. The tears soon started to flow down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Marron walked over to where Len was sitting and knelt down beside her, as Hawk gave Len's shoulders a squeeze.

"We know you didn't mean it, Len. The mutants that witnessed that know that you were still asleep. It's all right, Len. Z will be fine. Don't worry. She's a strong mutant, in fact, stronger than most of us." She gave a sigh. "But I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you, Len, but you must realize by now." She dropped her head down for a moment before bringing it back up to face Len. Len looked back at her through red eyes and noticed that there was a look of pity within Marron's features.

"You're a mutant, Len. You're a mutant."


	7. Bitter Denial

**Chapter 7: Bitter Denial**

By: Galadeidre

**EverAfter-01 – **Hey thanks for adding me to ure favs! I really appreaciate that. And I'm glad you like this story. I loved your exclamations, too.

**Horsecrazy** – Well, here's the next chapter for ya! Sorry, I haven't quite said exactly what Len has. I've shown a little bit of her powers, but not the full extent yet. That'll come soon. Thanks for reading!

**Maid of the Mer** – Have you ever tried those cheese strudel muffins or something like that? Those are good, too!

**mm4ever2gether** – Thanks for reading! Sorry, I thought you'd probably find out how Conner reacts to Len being a mutant in this chapter, but I realized that that'll be in the next. At least, I'm almost positive that that'll be in the next chapter! Thanks tho!

**A/N:** Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I really appreaciate it! (Did I say something like this in the last chapter?) ; p

* * *

It felt as if a huge boulder had just slammed into her body. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She…Lenette Terace…was not a human anymore. She wasn't a regular red-headed, seventeen-year-old senior any longer. She was a mutant. A despised freak of nature. Just like the Jews during the Holocaust and the African-Americans during the Civil War. 

She had stopped crying and was only staring straight at Marron, her eyes wide with firstly shock, which gradually changed to fear. Where was she to go now? She couldn't go home. Her parents wouldn't want her. They'd kick her out of the house the minute they found out. She couldn't even go to her friends, for they were all practically anti-mutant supporters. And she didn't want to stay with any of these mutants. Being a mutant herself was bad enough. As she mulled this all over, she realized that the only option was to get out of the city and run.

But to where?

Her mind was still thinking in a human mode. She shook her head. "I…I can't be…it just can't be…" she whispered. Her head dropped down to stare at her lap.

Marron sighed. "We know what you're going through, Len. If you want, I'm sure one of us would be glad to take you in temporarily…"

"No." Len shook her head furiously. "I'm not a mutant. I'm not!"

"Len," Von started calmly. "Denial won't get you anywhere…"

"Shut up! Just shut up! I've had enough of you! All of you!" Len sprang to her feet, glaring at all of them in turn. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she refused to cry, for the anger was building up inside her. She couldn't believe her life would be changing…correction…to Len, it _wasn't_ going to change. She wasn't a mutant. She believed that.

"Len, come on," Marron said quietly, She slowly stood up, her hands outstretched just slightly in front of her, her eyes never leaving Len. "You're confused. It's okay. We can help you. We'll find someone who'll be able to help you harness you power so it won't go haywire."

"I told you already! I'm not a mutant! I never will be!" Hawk started forward to her, but Len turned on him, her arm angrily outstretched before her. "Don't come near me!" she hissed. Hawk stopped immediately in his tracks.

"Okay, Len," Marron whispered, sounding a little worried. The other mutants were starting to whisper to each other and look at Len in slight fear. Marron dug in her pocket and took out her cell. "I'm gonna call Conner. Do you want me to call Conner?"

_Conner…_ Len's eyes widened in sudden realization. _Of course…it was Conner. It's always been Conner's fault. _She began to mutter to herself. "Why didn't I ever think of that before…"

Marron frowned, straining to hear Len's voice. "Len? So you do want me to call him? I can. They're performing already, but I can contact him if need be. Is that what you want? Len?" But Len wasn't listening.

Her anger was slowly starting to boil. She was looking down at the ground and turning this way and that, not glancing at anything in particular. She was sorting all of the past events in her mind. "Of course it was him…I should've known…him and his stupid powers…I can't actually believe I fell for it…it's all his fault…it's always been his fault…why didn't I think of that before…God, Len, you must've been blind…damn it…he was just using me as a guinea pig…the damn loser…I can't believe he did this to me…oh, when I get my hands on him…to hell with him…I'll kill him…"

The mutants nearby, including Marron, had heard every single word, even though she was muttering to herself. Marron glanced at Hawk. He, too, had heard what she had said. She glanced over at Von. Von was just as stunned as the rest of the mutants. It didn't take them long to figure out who she was talking about – and they were shocked. They had never witnessed anyone get this furious for turning into a mutant.

Von gave a nod to Marron, and Marron stepped closer to Len. It took a bit of an effort to keep her voice in check. "Len, listen to me. Conner doesn't have any side effects with his powers. He's always tried healing people with his visions. He's done it plenty of times with several of us here. Listen, Len. Conner didn't do this to you. It's only a natural occurrence in some people." She gently took Len's arm in her hand…

…which was a mistake.

Len gasped as visions started to appear, once again, in her mind. But these weren't the visions of the red-headed mutant that she normally dreamt about…

* * *

_Someone was running down the steps that led to the Shelter. Her blurred face was pale, and her hand clutched her side. She tripped and fell down the last flight of steps, breaking her ankle as she did so and crying out in pain. There were voices above her at the entrance of the cave, which she heard, but did not reply to. She limped towards the entrance door of the Shelter and furiously began to pound on it. Deep brown eyes appeared at the window slot. They widened in shock and immediately began to unlock the door. The door swung open and the injured female ran in._

_"Lock the door! Quick!"_

_"What's going on?" To Len, all these figures seemed slightly blurred. She couldn't make out their faces. She could tell, though, that it was the guy that had opened the door that was asking the question._

_"We've got to get out of here!" the female asked. "Now! You all know the drill! Let's move, move, move! Go, now! Wake everyone up, and run! They've found us! They found us!" she fell to the floor, and the door opener knelt beside her. _

_The rest of the mutants there were well practiced. They immediately began waking up people, calling out names, and forming groups. The teleporters and mutants that could walk through solid objects began to grab groups of people and take them out of the Shelter. Several other groups were running down hallways, which most likely led to the backdoors. Several of the teleporters, healers, and stronger mutants were carrying the patients they had out of the hospital section of the Shelter and teleporting out. The place soon only had a few of the stronger mutants left._

_A mutant stepped forward to the fallen girl. Though he was blurred, Len could just make out the sparks and electricity bolts that were flying all around this mutant. There were a few other mutants behind him. _

_Bolt looked down. "Marron, how many are there?"_

_The injured girl, Marron, whispered, "I'm not sure…"_

_"I can't believe they found out," Hawk's voice suddenly spoke up. "How could they have found out?"_

_"Maybe someone told on us," another mutant spoke. _

_"Like who? Who would want to?"_

_"Has anyone seen Conner?" Marron whispered. _

_The brown-eyed guy that was supporting Marron shook his head. "No." Len realized that this was Von's voice. "I've had Sprint, Query, Bloodhound, and Sharp Eyes out for weeks. No luck."_

_There were several loud pounds on the metal door. The mutants looked up and listened to the gruff voices on the other side. _

_Von turned to a mutant that had just teleported into view. "Are the others safe and out of harm's way?"_

_The mutant's breath was ragged. Her voice shook as she spoke. "It's bad, Von. It's really bad."_

_"What happened?"_

_"There's a huge police squad outside. A good hundred or so officers. They've even got the SWAT team out there."_

_Von swore under his breath and tightened his grip on Marron's shoulders. Several of the other mutants were muttering under their breaths._

_"And the others?"_

_"Most were caught. They took all of the injured, tranquilized several of the others, stunned the stronger ones."_

_"Any deaths?"_

_"No, thank goodness. A few of us were able to escape, but that's not many compared to the rest that were captured."_

_"They're probably gonna use them as lab rats or something. We're gonna have to escape for now, regroup with as many as we can, and then take back the captured." Von looked up at the teleporter. "Can you teleport us out of here?"_

_"Depends on where. They've got about a half-mile radius blocked off and swarming with feds. I don't know how far I can teleport."_

_"Looks like we're gonna have to make a stand, then."_

_"With this many feds swarming the area!" Bolt argued. "We're as good as dead!"_

_"Do you have any other ideas?"_

_"I could try teleporting us to as far as I possibly can," the teleporter suggested. "Maybe then it'll be easier to break through the cops."_

_"It's worth a shot." Von looked down. "You up to it, Marron?" Marron slowly nodded. She winced as she tried to move. Von immediately caught the noise and took her hand off her side. There was a gaping wound that was bleeding profusely, clearly showing one broken rib._

_"Quick. Someone get me a first aid kit. Now!" In a matter of moments someone had handed him several bandages. _

_There was a loud bang and a wisp of gray smoke filtered in from the bottom of the door. A man was giving out orders on the other side. _

_"Von, hurry it up will you?" Hawk asked. He was eyeing the door warily. _

_Von ripped the bandage with his teeth and tucked the end underneath several layers of the wrapping. Marron winced as he touched the wound. _

_"Don't worry, Marron," Von whispered as he lifted her up in his arms. "We'll clean you up once this is all over."_

_Another bang sounded, and Von turned towards the teleporter. "Get us the hell out of here, Connie."_

_The teleporter, Connie, nodded and grabbed hold of several of the mutants. The rest formed a circle, and grabbed onto each other's arms. Connie closed her eyes and, in a matter of moments, they were out of the Shelter…_

_…and in the middle of a group of cops._

_The officers were thoroughly shocked to see a group of teenagers appear from out of nowhere in the middle of their circle of police cars. But they weren't surprised for long. _

_"Fire at will, men! Take down those freaks!" The mutants were soon peppered with incoming bullets. _

_"Suspend!" Von yelled out. One of the older mutants stepped forward. She held out her arms, stopping the bullets before they reached them._

_Bolt gave a yell and slammed his fists together. A huge stream of electricity shot from his hands, splitting into several smaller streams. They struck at the cars, causing their engines to blow. _

_"Don't stop, men! Keep firing!" And the men did keep firing. _

_This time, Suspend and Bolt weren't ready. A bullet lodged in Bolt's leg, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees. Suspend suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. The others didn't know if she was dead or not, and they didn't have time to figure that out. _

_"Shield!" Von yelled. A freshman boy held up his arms and a transparent film surrounded them. "I don't know how long this shield'll last, Von! We can't stay here!"_

_Marron wasn't listening to them as they tried to figure out what to do next. She was staring at one of the officers who wasn't firing. He, too, was staring at her in complete shock. "Dad…"_

_Suddenly she was being lifted up. Marron turned her eyes back on Von. "Von!"_

_"If anything, you'll be able to contact the others! We'll try holding them off! Connie!" _

_Connie turned around and was about to grab Marron when an officer suddenly threw a stick of dynamite._

_"Connie!" Shield yelled out. _

_But it was too late. _

_The dynamite blew, penetrating the shield, the blow slamming full force into Connie. She screamed and fell to the ground. _

_Von swore once more and turned to Hawk. _

_"Hawk! Take Marron and get out of here!" He threw her at Hawk and Hawk caught her, flying as he did so. He started to fly up higher into the sky as Von and the remaining mutants tried keeping the officers' attentions._

_But one officer had spotted Hawk escaping. He aimed and shot. The bullet lodge in the back of Hawk's neck, instantly killing him. He started falling to the ground. _

_"MARRON!" Von and Marron's father yelled at the same time. _

_Marron continued to fall closer and closer to the ground…

* * *

_

Len was screaming as this vision repeated itself.

"Len!" Marron cried out.

"Get away from me! Get away!" Len continued to scream as she backed away from them. She tripped and fell on top of Hawk, screaming as the vision of him getting shot started racing through her mind. "Stay away!" She gripped her head. "Get out! Get out! Stop it!" She ran to the door, where two strong mutants were standing.

"Len! Let us help you! Len!" Marron cried out.

Len screamed, and gripped her head harder.

Suddenly, Marron fell to the ground groaning and gripping her head as well.

And it wasn't just her.

All the other telepaths in the Shelter were groaning in pain.

"Marron!" Von muttered. He finally stood up and ran to where Marron had collapsed. "Marron? What's wrong? What is it?"

Bolt's sister, the black-haired freshman, started screaming, for she, too, was a telepath. "Bolt! Tell her to stop! Tell her to stop!"

"It hurts! God, it hurts!" another telepath cried out.

Pretty soon all of the telepaths were groaning and crying out in pain.

"What's happening to them!" Bolt yelled out, as he tried to comfort his sister.

"The same thing that Len did to Z…" Von muttered to himself. He glanced at Len. "Len! Stop it! Please!"

Len screamed and glanced up at the two mutants standing by the door. "Go away!" She began to scream again. Suddenly, the two mutants were floating and were thrown to the other end of the Shelter. The door opened, and Len ran up the steps, still gripping her head in pain.

"We have to bring her back here!" Hawk replied. He started to fly forward.

"No!" Von ordered. The telepaths had stopped screaming, but they were all knocked unconscious. "We have to take care of the injured. Take them to the hospital room. Get them all comfortable. Now!" The medics and several of the other mutants began running here and there to get everything set up for their patients.

"Sprint. Sharp Eyes. Alarm." Three teenage mutants, one of them being the speed mutant from Len's English class, stepped towards Von as he laid Marron on a stretcher. "Follow Len. Don't let her know you're there. Just follow her. She's got enough sense to know that she shouldn't be seen by anyone." The three mutants nodded and quickly ran up the steps, in search for the new mutant.

Von sighed and briskly walked to where they had placed Marron on a hospital bed next to Z. He looked at both the mutants, and a frown came across his face. "Z. Marron. What did you guys see?" He gave Marron's hand a squeeze.


	8. Bitter Denial 2

**Chapter 8: Bitter Denial 2**

By: Galadeidre

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter! Hope you guys like it!

**Maid of the Mer:** You're right. I'd choose chocolate any day.

**EverAfter-01:** About the Jean and Len similarities…well…I did actually do that on purpose. I'm glad you noticed. Oh, and I'd be happy to use your Chara. Is she in one of your fanfic stories? I can't find her. I'd like to read a little bit about her, if you don't mind. Thanks for the offer!

* * *

"Sharp Eyes, do you see her?" Sprint whispered. The moon was full and shone clearly even through the thick forest growth. The night air was completely silent, save for the crickets chirping. Alarm came up last out from the stairway that led to the Shelter, closing the trapdoor silently and covering it with dry leaves and twigs. 

Sharp Eyes took a look around, his albino skin bright in the moonlight.

"Yes. She's still running. She's at the end of the block."

"Let's go then." Sprint took hold of Alarm and Sharp Eyes and ran nearer to Len, making sure that they kept in the shadows.

* * *

Len finally stopped running as she turned the corner. She didn't dare look back, and briskly kept a fast pace. Finally, she collapsed beside a tree, on the side that wasn't overlooking the streets or sidewalks. She was out of breath, and a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. Tears streamed down her face as she began to realize that she may never be able to go home. She still didn't want to believe, but she knew it had to be true. Why would they have brought her to the Shelter in the first place? They didn't have anything to hold against her. She had always been nice to them.

Now, that she was one of them, all she felt was hatred and self-loathing.

And she needed to talk to Conner.

No…

She wanted to kill him.

She continued to blame him for everything that had happened. It was his fault. Did he not just heal her from her nightmares just that morning? He had somehow changed her…had made her turn mutant. Thanks to him, she would never see her folks or her baby brother San…

She was going to kill him for that.

Len closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Calm down, Len. Calm down. _She stayed silent like this for quite some time. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked around.

Only the street lamps were on. All was silent. Most of the houses were dark, and not a soul was in sight. She glanced up towards the clock tower that could be seen from almost anywhere in the city, it was so tall.

11:05

By now, Conner would be done with the performance. She stood up and glanced through the trees towards the high school. There were a few cars still parked in the parking lot near the performing arts center, and she immediately recognized Conner's silver Ford Taurus. No one was coming out of the parking lot, meaning that they were still cleaning up the stage.

Len's eyes narrowed and she walked a few more blocks away from the high school until she couldn't see the building anymore. She found a payphone and dug in her pocket for some change. Without a word, she picked up the receiver and entered some coins in the coin slot. She dialed Conner's cell phone number.

Conner answered after the second ring.

"Hello, Conner O'Brien speaking."

"I'm on the corner of Ricotta and Main. Pick me up," Len immediately spoke, her voice cold and unfeeling.

There was a slight pause before Conner spoke again. His voice was hesitant. "Len? Is that you, love?"

"Don't call me that!" she hissed. "Pick me up now."

"But…"

Len hung up on him and sat on one of the wooden benches, as still and silent as the grave.

Conner was good at following orders – or it may have been because of the coldness in Len's voice. Either way, he was at the corner of the two streets within five minutes.

Len opened the door to the passenger seat and went in. "Drive."

"To where?"

"I don't care! Just anywhere out of the city." She didn't even glance at Conner as she said this, and she could feel his confusion and hesitancy.

Conner didn't ask any more questions for a while. He turned the corner and headed for a rural highway out of the city.

* * *

"Look. It's Conner." Sharp Eyes whispered through the bushes. Sprint and Alarm looked to where Sharp Eyes was pointing.

"Sprint, you should continue following them for a while. No telling what Len'll do. No doubt she's still mad at him." Alarm remarked.

Sharp Eyes nodded in agreement. "We'll head back to the Shelter and inform Von of the situation."

"Ok. Later, then." With that said, Sprint zoomed off towards Conner's car.

* * *

The cold silence was driving Conner insane. He fidgeted in his seat as he neared the edge of the city. Len still had not spoken.

Finally, Conner couldn't bear it any longer. "Len, what's wrong? And where have you been? Your folks called me several hours ago asking if you were with me. You've got them real worried sick about you."

"Just drive."

Conner sighed and started braking for an upcoming stoplight. All around them was just tall, uncut grass. They were practically in the countryside now. This was the last stoplight out of the city. "I can help you, Len. You know that. I just need to know what happened to you."

This was about all that Len could take. The minute Conner braked at the stoplight, she opened the car door and ran out and into the pasture.

"Len! Crud, Len!" He tried to reach for her, but to no avail. Immediately, he turned right on the other road and parked on the side. Not caring that his engine was still running, he got out of the car and ran after Len. In a matter of moments, he had caught up to her and had grabbed her around the sides.

Len was crying again. She tried to break his grip off of her as well as beat him in any way. "Let me go! Get off of me! I said, get away! Get away!"

"Lenette! What the hell are you doing! Lenette!" Conner winced as Len's elbow hit him on the side. With a bit of effort, he turned her around to face him, but kept a firm grip around her. Len continued to beat him with the best of her ability as she continued to scream and cry. Conner tripped, and they toppled onto the ground. Len tried to crawl away, but Conner pounced on her. Len fell on her back and Conner pushed her shoulders down onto the ground to stop her from getting up.

At this point, Len knew it was useless to try to run. Conner was faster and stronger than her. He would always catch her. She stopped flailing and began to sob even harder.

Conner tried to catch his breath as he pulled her to him in a gentle hug. He knew that he had to be careful of what he did. She wasn't ready to be too close to him yet.

Len weakly pounded on his chest as she sobbed onto his shoulder, soaking his shirt. She was muttering as she continued to cry. "It's…your…f…fault…it's…your…"

Conner sighed, but didn't ask what she meant.

"Conner?"

Conner looked up to see Sprint standing in front of him.

"Sprint…"

"Here." Sprint handed Conner his keys. "I turned the car off for you. Didn't want anyone stealing your car. You might need it."

"Why are you here?" Conner asked confused. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Unless…" He looked down at Len, who was still crying.

Sprint sighed and nodded. "Von told me to watch her for a while, just in case."

"So, she's been at the Shelter this whole time? What happened?"

"She knocked out Z as well as the other telepaths back at the Shelter. Her powers are real strong. She ran out of the Shelter, so we've been keeping an eye on her."

"She knocked out Z?"

Sprint nodded.

Conner sighed and drew Len slightly away from him, so he could look at her in the face. "Why didn't you tell me, Len?"

"She blames you, Conner."

"What?" Conner looked from Sprint back to Len. "Why?"

"She thinks your powers triggered hers."

"But I'm sure my powers don't have side effects…"

"Not to her."

Conner looked back at Len. "Len? Is this true?"

Len didn't speak. She just looked up at him with red, puffy eyes, but Conner could see the bitter contempt within them. Conner sighed once again, his shoulders sagging, and he let go of her shoulders. He stood up, hands in his pockets, and looked up Sprint. "Thanks for watching after her this far. I'll take over from here."

"What are ya gonna do?"

"She can't stay here. I think I know where she can go, though. Marron knows him. Don't worry about it. Give Von my appreciation. I'll call when everything's been settled."

"All right. Later." Sprint turned around, but then turned back. He glanced down at Len who hadn't moved from her spot. "Hey, Len." Len didn't move. "Len, when you come back, you're welcome to make yourself at home at the Shelter. Don't worry about any of the mutants there. They'll all accept you. Most of us already have." He gave a grin and zoomed off.

All was silent once Sprint left.

Conner glanced down at Len with a look of sadness on his face. Len continued to stare at the ground not moving. After what seemed like an eternity, Conner silently turned and walked back to the car.

Len thought he was going to leave her there. _Good…_ she bitterly thought to herself. _Shows how heartless he is…_ but she knew that that wasn't quite true.

And she was shocked when Conner hadn't left.

Instead, Conner just opened one of the back doors and unzipped his backpack. He got out a notebook and a textbook, leaned on the side of his car, and began to read and do his homework. He stayed that way for several minutes, knowing that he was going to have to earn Len's trust back little by little, which meant that he was going to have to be patient. He was good at that.

Finally, Len looked up at him. There was a frown on Conner's face as he reread a question in his textbook. He scribbled something down in his notebook, erased it, and wrote something else. He sighed as he erased that answer as well.

From where Len was sitting, she could just make out the words 'Pre-calculus' on the textbook in the dim street light that hovered several feet away from Conner's car. Slowly, she got up from where she sat and walked over to Conner. She stopped several paces away from him and just stood there watching. Conner frowned as he erased the problem once again. Len knew that pre-calculus was one of Conner's tougher subjects.

Conner wasn't saying anything to Len, but Len knew how much he wanted to say something. Anything. He was a sweet boy; Len knew that. She was lucky to have him. Any other boy would've just told her to get used to the fact that she was a mutant and live with it. Conner knew better. She started feeling guilty for being so cruel to him.

Len gave a sigh as Conner erased the same problem for about the fifth time. "Here. Let me see it."

Conner looked up at her, with a mixture of emotions in his eyes, and gently handed her the book, without saying a word. Len took the book and placed it on the trunk of his car. She took his pencil and notebook and wrote the problem down for him. "You're forgetting to square root here…" She finished the problem for him and placed the pencil down.

Conner gave a small smile. "Thanks." He sighed as he closed the book and notebook and returned the items to his backpack. "I could never get any of that stuff. You were always better at it than me." Len gave a small smile, which immediately disappeared. Now that she had stopped crying and was thinking a bit straighter, she couldn't look at Conner in the eyes. She had blamed him unfairly and had said such cruel things about him. How could he even stand being around her anymore?

"Hey. You okay?" Conner tilted his head to look at her. "Then again, that's a stupid question, considering what's happened to you over the past few hours."

Silence.

Finally, Len began to speak in a soft tone. "You said that you had an idea of where I could go. Where? You said Marron knows him."

Conner nodded and his face became serious again. "He's a professor up at Westchester."

"Westchester, New York? That's over a day's drive from here."

"Yeah." He gave a small grin. "I guess we're gonna be taking a road trip, huh? That is, unless you don't want to go there."

"Might as well try it."

"Okay, then." He opened up the passenger door for Len. "You think you'll be able to stand me for a good day and a half?"

Len gave a smile. "I'll try at least." She went into the car and Conner shut the door behind her. He walked over to his side, started the engine, and turned the car around, traveling north on the rural highway and away from their hometown.

"Hey, Len." Conner said quietly after a while on the highway.

"Yeah?"

"I'm…sorry. Sorry…about everything."

His genuine apology cut through Len's heart. She realized that Conner didn't have to do this, but he was. He didn't care that she blamed him. He just wanted her safe. Why did this have to happen to her? A tear trickled down her cheek as she looked out at the dark landscape.

"Me too…"

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, another note. I've been thinking of how to continue this story, but I've come with a little problem. From the looks of it, I have 2 different ways I can make this story continue. The difference between them is that one way may be a bit more 'rated', meaning I'd have to bring the rating of this story up from K+ to T. The other version would stay at K+. What do you guys prefer? Would any of you mind if it went up to T? Please respond, if possible. Don't worry. There's still a few more chapters left before I'll have to choose if it'll stay at K+ or go up to T, but please review either way if you like it or no. Thanks!

Galadeidre


	9. Road Trip

**Chapter 9: Road Trip**

By: Galadeidre

**A/N: **To all of you wonderful readers, thank you so much for waiting ever so patiently. I am sooooo sorry it took so very very long this time. School has been an absolute 'wonderful' chaos (sarcasm). The musical is taking up most of my time, but it's almost over, and we finally had one free day of no musical practice. Hallelujah! There was finally a lull within my busy schedule, so I've finally been able to write. I'll try updating sooner, but I can't promise you all. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Also, since I have had a specific request to keep it K plus, I'll keep it that way. If anything changes, I'll keep you all posted! Thanks for the input!

Galadeidre

* * *

Len felt the car slow down to a halt and opened her eyes. Fluorescent lights filtered through the closed car windows and onto her lap, illuminating the textbook and papers that she had left as she dozed off into a dreamless sleep. She heard the car door close gently and closed her eyelids once more. 

She awoke as she heard the door open, someone come into the vehicle, and the door close once again. This time, she blinked a few times before shifting in her seat, stretching as she did so.

"Good morning, Len," Conner replied cheerfully. He started the engine. "Sorry. Did I wake you? I had to stop for gas."

"S'okay." Len closed the textbook and looked out through the window. The sky was still black. Len frowned, "It's morning?"

"Early morning. It's 1:40, see?" He tapped the digital clock under his dashboard. True enough, it said 1:40.

Len raised an eyebrow. For a moment, genuine concern replaced her fear of him. "Haven't you slept?"

Conner shrugged. "I found a rest area and took a twenty-minute nap." As he turned out of the gas station and back onto the highway, he glanced at her, slightly cocking an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." She quickly turned away as her fear came back, and she began to pile the papers together and into the backpack that was by her foot. She could feel Conner's eyes on the back of her head as she avoided him. "I…I finished correcting your homework, by the way. Your math. Do you want me to finish correcting your English?"

"Didn't have any homework." He shifted his eyes back to the road. "Thanks a heap, though. Seriously, you should become a teacher."

Len gave a small smile. "Maybe I will." She settled back into her seat and looked out the side window.

The uncomfortable silence continued until Conner broke it.

"You've gotta be hungry. Want a midnight snack?"

Len was about to say no, but her stomach answered for her. She looked down at it as she gave an uneasy smile "If you have anything edible, that'll be fine."

Conner had heard the growl and had chuckled. He reached behind him into a plastic bag on the backseat, his eyes keeping a careful watch on the road. "Here. Bought this back at the station for ya. I had a feeling you'd be hungry. You like sour cream 'n' onion, right?" He handed her a can of Pringles.

Len's eyes lit up as she eagerly opened the can and began to eat. "Wow. It's been a while since I've had Pringles. Thanks."

Conner just smiled and they soon fell back into the silent routine, except for the occasional munch of a Pringle.

Len glanced at Conner after a while, beating herself up for not asking him sooner if he wanted a few Pringles. She held a chip up towards him. "Want one?"

Conner made a face. "I only like original."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot." She sheepishly remarked as she popped the chip into her mouth and began to beat herself once more. Of course she should've known that he only liked original.

Conner grinned. "That's all right. I'm not that hungry anyway. I just had a sandwich and M&M's less than an hour ago. Hey, you want the radio on?"

"That's fine." Conner flipped on the radio and tuned it to a station playing some music. He kept the volume low.

The song finished and the two djs of the evening started conversing. They talked about several different subjects before one certain topic caught both Conner and Len's attention.

"So, the President's become more soft-hearted, don't ya think, Phil?"

"Mm hmm. He gave a speech last night didn't he?"

"Yeah. Talking about nothing else but our favorite topic of the decade."

"No kidding. I'm kinda surprised that the Mutant Registration Act didn't pass."

"Maybe a few more pro-mutants in Congress that we thought."

"Not to mention the new turn-around of Kelly."

"That, too. That must've come as a blow to the anti-mutants. I, for one, have never met a mutant before. I wonder what it's like."

"Couldn't tell you. But that brings another question in mind. I'm going back to the Kelly-thing. D'ya think he met a mutant or something? Would that be the reason why he's changed his point of view about mutants?"

"It's a good possibility."

"I wonder what the mutant did to him to change his mind."

"Maybe he brainwashed him."

"Oh, come on. Do you think some mutants can actually brainwash people?"

"Well, we've got mutants who can enter our minds. I mean, who's to say that they can't…"

Conner switched the radio off and gave an uneasy chuckle. "Sorry."

Len shook her head. "It's not your fault." She sighed and looked out the window. "It's just how the world is like these days…"

"You don't…" Len could hear the uneasiness in his voice as he tried to find the right words. "You don't think that I…that I…do _that_, do you?"

"You mean, like, 'brainwashing' me?" Len glanced back at him before returning back to her gaze out the window. "No," she answered softly.

"Really?" Conner frowned. "Why?"

Len shrugged and shook her head. "I'm not so sure why. It's just like some weird feeling I have. I dunno." She fell silent.

Conner glanced sadly at her. Normally, she was never this quiet, and if she was upset about something, he could usually comfort her easily…of course, he had used his mutant powers to help ease the pain most of those times. Now, he was afraid to even come near her, for fear of losing her further.

"Len?"

"Hmm?"

"Is being a mutant that horrible to you?"

Len shook her head. "No, I guess…I was more afraid of losing the life that I had lived."

"Have you lost it?"

"I don't think I have. Maybe…maybe it'll be better now…I mean, the Shelter houses so many mutants. More than I thought were enrolled at the high school. Look at their lives. Some do have pretty good lives. Maybe, once I get used to these powers, I'll be able to have as good as a life as them…"

Conner knew her better than that. He pressed on. "But?"

Len didn't answer for so long that Conner thought she hadn't heard. He was about to say her name when he heard a sniff. He gave a quick glance to Len and noticed that she was silently crying, the tears slowly running down her cheeks.

"Len?"

"Conner, am I ever gonna see my family again?" Not waiting for a reply from him, she drew her knees up to her chin, wrapped her arms around her legs, and continued. "I…I left without saying goodbye…I mean…I know I can't tell them I'm a mutie…but…but I might not see them ever again. I may never see Sanny grow up…" Her voice broke and she buried her face between her knees, hands trembling.

For the first time, Conner couldn't find a single thing to say that was reassuring to her. He knew well enough what kind of a life a mutant led. He knew that it wouldn't be easy, and that many families ended up separated as a result of a mutation. He also knew how much it hurt Len that she would probably never see her family again. He, just like the other mutants, including Len, knew that in her situation, she would probably have to stay away from her family for the rest of her life and let them believe that she had disappeared for good. So for the time being, Conner stayed quiet and listened to her softly cry until she finally fell asleep once more.

For the next few hours, Conner drove on, thinking of the good times that he had had with Len. He had a hunch that it would change…and he was afraid. He feared for Len. He feared that he, too, would never see her again. Once he brought her to their destination, he would have to leave her there and trust that she would be taken care of. He had doubts…and there was a dread deep within him that said that it_ was_ his fault that she had turned mutant. There was something in the way that the mutation had formed that worried him. He didn't know who he was worried for more: himself, the other people that encountered Len, or Len herself.

He slowed down to a stop at a lone stoplight at the edge of a city and looked at the sleeping form of Len.

_Whatever happens, Len,_ Conner thought to himself, _Somehow, I'm gonna make things right for you. I promise._


	10. Familiar Faces

**Chapter 10: Familiar Faces**

By: Galadeidre

"Len. Len, wake up," Conner spoke softly.

Len squirmed and opened her eyelids as she felt the brake slow the car to a halt. "Where are we?"

"We're here, Len." Conner pulled the car up to an intercom that was inset in a brick wall supporting a gate. Len noticed a plaque on the front of the brick wall engraved with the words: "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters".

"This place…" Len breathed, her eyes wide with awe. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it is," Conner sadly remarked. _And you're gonna stay here for the time being._

A female voice spoke through the intercom. "Welcome to Xavier's School for the Gifted. How may I help you?"

_I've heard that voice before…_Len thought to herself.

"Yeah, hi. My name's Conner and I have a friend here that's new with her mutation. We're wondering if she can stay and learn to control her powers."

"Please, come in."

The gates slowly glided open and Conner slowly drove the car to the front doors. He parked the car and got out, Len following. Conner quickly opened the trunk, took out a duffel bag, and caught up to Len at the foot of the steps. He let out his breath as he glanced down at Len. "Ready?"

Len gave a slow nod and looked at the closed doors. "I guess so." She had a weird feeling about the place.

The thick, wooden doors slowly opened and out stepped a woman the same height as Len, with flowing white hair and smooth brown skin…

…the same white-haired woman from her dream.

Len and the woman stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity until Conner realized the extensive silence. "Uh, Len?"

The white-haired woman was the first to speak of the two. She gave a small, yet wary smile. "Welcome. My name is Ororo Munroe. And you are?" She held out her hand in greeting.

Len inched closer to Conner.

Seeing that Len wasn't going to greet the woman, Conner stepped in and took Ororo's hand. "Hi. I'm Conner O'Brien. The one you spoke to over the intercom. This is my friend Lenette Terace. We're wondering if we could speak with the head of this school about if Len could enroll here for a while."

"Lenette…" Ororo was once again staring at Len, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. She only stared for a short while before putting on her smile once more. "If you would like to follow me, please. I'll take you to the head of this school." She turned around and walked down a hallway.

They were halfway down the hallway when they suddenly heard voices. A group of children opened a door and ran across the hallway, shouting and laughing as they ran outside for their recess.

Another door opened and several teenagers walked out and into the hallway. A certain boy and girl caught Len's attention; the boy had golden brown gelled hair and ice blue eyes, and the girl had red-brown hair with a white streak in the front.

They, too, had been in Len's dream.

She stared at them as they passed her.

Both the girl and boy did a double-take as they glanced at her while they passed. Len turned away and looked at the ground as they continued to walk.

Conner, too, noticed this. "Len? What's wrong? We can still turn back if you want."

Len shook her head and braved a smile. She had come this far and she wasn't going to turn back. But she was afraid.

Then someone behind her called the name that she knew would confirm everything that she had seen.

"Jean?"

Though it was far from her real name, Len turned without a moment's hesitation, knowing who she would see.

Both the visored man and the black, wolf-haired man were staring at her. The visored man had his mouth wide open and the other was holding a lit cigar between his fingers.

Conner and Ororo stopped and turned as well. As Ororo walked towards the two men, Conner gently took hold of Len's shoulders. Len looked into Conner's eyes: He knew.

"Len," Conner whispered quietly to her. "Jean…that's her name isn't it? The girl in your dreams?"

Len gave a slow nod. She was watching the visored man as Ororo cleared up the mistake to both of the men. His pained expression almost broke Len's heart.

Conner sighed as he looked from the man back to Len. "And this place…these people…they're all from your dream?"

"Some of them."

"Who?"

"Miss Ororo and those two men. There was a boy and a girl about our age, maybe younger, that I recognized, too. Conner." Len looked up at him, her voice shaking. "The dream…it…it must've happened already…Jean…she's…she must've died…she's…"

"Hey, hey. Come on now. It's okay." Conner gently drew her into a hug. He made sure he didn't let her go until he knew she was calm once more.

Ororo came back as the two men left down a different hallway. Len caught the eye of the visored man before he left. He stared at her for a while longer before the other dragged him away.

"I'm terribly sorry for that," Ororo replied. She gave a smile. "I…I really don't know how to say this to you, Lenette, but…well…you look _exactly_ like someone we knew before. It's really quite strange. If not for your eyes, they're gorgeous by the way, I probably would have mistaken you for Jean. Jean was her name."

"Mmm," Conner remarked.

"Well," Ororo exhaled, recollecting herself. "Shall we?" She turned and began to walk, once again, down the hallway. Ororo stopped at a closed wooden door and turned to them. "If you could wait here for a moment, I'll talk to the professor." She knocked and entered, closing the door behind her.

Conner sat down on a nearby lounge chair, setting the duffel bag on the ground. He looked up and gently touched Len's arm. "You wanna sit down?"

Len gave a nod and sat, leaning forward away form the back of the chairs and sighed.

Conner watched her every move. "Len…"

"Yeah?"

Conner sighed and leaned back. "I'm serious about this. Do you want to turn back? We still can."

Len looked at him, a frown on her face. "Conner, I'll be fine. It was…was just a shocker, that's all."

"Well, no kidding. And you'll for sure be stared at for a long time if you stay here. Look." He leaned towards her, his eyes gazing into hers. "We can still find another place for you to stay. It doesn't have to be here. I have a few other contacts that I could probably talk to…"

Len shook her head. "You've done enough for me, Conner."

"I wish I could do more…" Conner looked down and away. Len didn't need to ask what he meant.

The door opened and both of them looked up. Ororo stood looking down at them. She gave them a smile. "Come on in."

As Len and Conner entered the room, Ororo gestured to the bald man behind the desk. "This is Professor Charles Xavier. And these two are…"

"Conner and Lenette, yes." The old man gave a comforting smile and gestured to the chairs in front of him. "Please, have a seat."

Conner did so, but Len was slow to react. She had had a hunch that she would recognize the Professor, considering she had recognized the others, but she was surprised at what she saw in his eyes: He seemed to read her a little too well.

"Don't be so surprised, my dear," Xavier replied, gazing gently into her eyes. He nodded. "You aren't as touched in the head as you think you are."

Len slowly took a seat, not taking her eyes off of the old man. "Does that mean that you know how to help me?"

Xavier frowned. "I can help you harness your power if that is what you mean, but I cannot, for the lack of better terms, _cure_ you from your mutation."

Len gave a small nod and leaned back into her chair.

Xavier watched her and gave a sad smile. "I am sorry, but we do try to help as best as we can here in this facility."

"This is a school, right?" Conner asked.

"Yes, it is. What grade are you in, Lenette?"

"I'm a senior."

"Ah." The Professor gave a warm smile. "Well, I do believe we have a few seniors here. Probably not as many as you're accustomed to, but there's a fairly decent amount. Would you like to stay? It is your choice."

Len looked at Conner. Conner just glanced back, not giving anything away. Suddenly, Len was beginning to feel nervous. She took a deep breath. "I'll try it, I guess."

"Very well, then. Ororo, here, will show you to your room. I hope you don't mind sharing a room with some of the girls."

Len shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"Thank you," Conner added.

"Of course. Are you also staying, Conner?"

"Ah, no. I have to get back home and form a cover story for Len."

"Oh, I see." Xavier smiled. "May I ask how you came to know about our school?"

"A friend of mine, another telepath, knows you, I think. Marron's her name."

"Yes, I do recall that name. How is she?"

"Doing great."

"That's good news." Xavier looked back at Len. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Ororo, would you mind taking Lenette to one of the spare bedrooms?"

"I think we have one room with only one other occupant." Ororo looked at Len and smiled. "I know the feeling that the newer mutants have to other mutants. We'll take it slow for now."

"Thanks," Len remarked.

Ororo winked. "Sure. If you'd follow me, I'll show you the room." She walked out of the office, the two young mutants following. As she left, she looked back at the Professor. He nodded gravely before he looked away.

Ororo turned back around and walked down the hallway. Conner squeezed Len's shoulders in comfort as Len took a few deep breaths and looked around the hallway that they were walking down.

She caught the eyes of the visored man before the elevator door closed in front of her.


	11. Letting Go

**Chapter 11: Letting Go**

By: Galadeidre

_Knock, knock, knock._

A pair of cool blue eyes opened at the sound and she looked towards the door. Instinctively, she grabbed a large black sweatshirt and pulled it over her head and onto her rather thin figure. "What is it?"

"May we come in?" Storm's voice floated through the closed wooden doors.

The young girl listened to the small scuffling noises that were heard after the question had been asked. She looked at the bottom of the door to see several shadows pass through the light that leaked underneath. She had been dreading this very moment.

She liked her privacy.

"Yeah."

The door opened and Storm's head peaked in. "Hi, Chloe! You have a new roommate." She opened the door wider to show the new occupant.

Chloe's cool, ice-blue eyes locked with Len's bright, emerald green eyes. Len was a bit hesitant to enter through to her new room. She looked at her new roommate. Chloe wore all black, from the oversized sweatshirt to the denim jeans and black socks. Her hair was a dark honey blonde that had been cropped short just above her shoulders. Her skin was a light, creamy-white color, almost pale white. At that moment, she was sitting on her bed, several paperback books lying strewn around on her blanket. Her side of the room was filled with her belongings – which didn't seem to be much. Her desk had a few papers, notebooks, and pencils, all neatly stacked and clean. There wasn't any adornment on the walls and the curtains had been drawn back to let in the sunlight of the day. The other side of the room which the spare bed and desk were located had not been touched.

"Chloe," Storm started. She turned from Chloe to Len. "This is your new roommate, Lenette. I want you to make her feel welcome here, alright?"

"Sure," Chloe responded. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms at the back of her head, leaning back.

Storm sighed and smiled, turning to Len. "Do you have anything else that needs to be carried up here? Any belongings? I can have someone go down and bring it up here."

"Uh, no." Len shook her head. "Thanks. I don't have anything else."

"All right." Storm smiled and placed her hand gently on Len's arm. "If you need anything, just call me. I have to do a few things, and I'll come back to check up on you later, all right? Professor Xavier may want to talk to you about training sessions later on in the day, but he'll find you when the time comes. Let me know if you need anything." With that, Storm disappeared down the hallway.

Len sighed and walked into her room. Chloe hadn't moved from her laid back position.

Conner entered the room after Len. He took a long look at Chloe before watching Len gaze around at her surroundings.

Len sighed once more and sat on her bed, her back facing Chloe. Conner looked down at her as he leaned onto the wall. "So? What do you think?"

Len nodded her head a few times. "I…I think I'll be able to handle it…yeah…" She looked up at him briefly and then looked away.

Conner knew she was scared, and he didn't blame her. He knelt down in front of her and spoke quietly. "Len…look. I…I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. If you don't want to stay, that's fine. Really, Len…I…"

Len shushed him by shaking her head. "Conner, you've done so much for me. I can do this. I'll be fine. Really, Conner." She gave Conner a stare to confirm it.

Conner knew better, but also knew that this was the best place for her to be at that time. He sighed and nodded. "Well, then. I guess you're staying here." He stood up. "Oh, I almost forgot." He placed the duffel bag that he had been carrying on top of the bed beside Len. "This is for you."

Len looked at him quizzically.

Conner gave a small chuckle, running his fingers through his messy brown hair. "I made a pit stop as we passed by a city while you were sleeping. Luckily, I had just received my paycheck. Being stage director has its perks."

Len's eyes widened. "Conner, you didn't."

"It's fine. Really. You needed a few belongings, so I thought it best. It's no big deal. Really." He sighed. He knew this time would soon come, and he had been dreading it. "Now, I should really be going."

"What? Why?"

Conner looked gently down at Len. "Len, it's Sunday. Luckily, we don't have school on Monday, but you know I have to be there on Tuesday, or people will start to wonder. I called Von several hours ago. He's already trying to form a cover story for you and several others, so that no one will question your disappearance."

"You can't stay any longer?" It hadn't quite registered to Len that he was leaving her. They had been together for such a long time that it didn't seem possible that Conner would be truly leaving her.

Conner glanced at her and slowly nodded, looking down. He slowly walked out of the room and down the hallway, Len following.

It finally and suddenly hit Len. She was filled with this ominous foreboding that he was leaving her…

…that she would never truly see him again…

Len stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Conner noticed this a few steps afterwards and turned around. He noticed that her face had a dazed yet dreading look on it. "Len…"

Len looked up at him, her eyes filled with fright. "You can't leave. You can't…"

"Len, I have to…"

"No!" Len was frozen where she stood, but her head shook side to side violently. "No! You can't leave. I…I won't see you again…" Her voice broke and she closed her eyes as she continued to shake her head.

Conner quickly walked back to her, holding out his arms to embrace her. "Len, that's not true. I promise I'll come back to visit. I'll write to you whenever I can, okay? Len?"

Tears slowly traveled down her cheeks. She opened her eyes and shook her head. "You don't understand…we won't…you won't…Conner…I…I don't have anyone else to turn to…I…"

Conner himself was close to breaking down. He had never left Len alone for a long period of time. Sometimes, he thought he was weak for doing this…that he could never leave her side. He knew, though, that he had to leave her…this time he had to walk away.

So he decided to do something that Lenette had never let him do before, praying that she would allow him this one pleasure.

He pulled her close to him and planted his lips firmly on hers.

And Len didn't stop him. Her eyes widened for a moment, but she then closed them to enjoy the moment. Tears began to stream down her face as the foreboding feeling continued to grow within her. This was the first time he'd ever kissed her – and it would be the last. She didn't want to let go. Her arms slowly went around his neck as his arms gently stroked her back and drew her ever closer to him.

Conner knew he couldn't hold onto her much longer. He had to leave. If he didn't go soon, he knew that there was a very good chance that he would change his mind and decide to stay against his better judgment. He'd never forget her and he wouldn't break his promise; he would come and visit her when he had settled everything with Len's parents and made sure that they were doing better than what they were feeling as of now.

He had to let her go.

And he did.

With one last push of his lips, he broke off the kiss and briskly walked down the hallway, into the elevator, and out of the mansion, never looking back to see if Len was following her, though he knew that she wasn't. He blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill.

Len just stood where he had left her. The minute he had broken off the kiss, the cold, forbidding feeling had overwhelmed her, and she shivered. With her eyes closed, she could see him walk out of the building…open the car door…start the engine…slowly drive out through the gates…leaving her...

She could feel his sorrow, which mirrored hers. She slowly fell to the ground, sobbing quietly. Either Xavier knew that she was there and had told everyone not to enter that hall or it was a beautiful day and everyone was outside. Whatever the reason, the hallway remained empty, save for Len who stayed sitting on the ground, the tears flowing down her cheeks and onto her lap.

* * *

A/N: Now I hoped you all liked this chapter! I wanted to cry when I wrote this. Really. I hated the thought of making Conner leave, but I had to. (sigh) It was the only way that this story could unfold. Well, let us move on…as you can all see, there is a new OC in this chapter! Yay! Actually, I must give all the credit of this OC to a writer that has been wonderfully reading and reviewing my story. Chloe is her original character – not mine – which she asked me to add into my fanfic. EA-01…I hope I do your OC justice in this story! Thank you all for your reviews! I do really enjoy them! I hope to be able to update soon! Thanks again!

Galadeidre


	12. Chloe

**Chapter 12: Chloe**

By: Galadeidre

Chloe heard a shuffling through the open bedroom door and looked up, not at all surprised to see a faint outline of dried tears marked on Len's peach-white face. Her shockingly green eyes were glassy and unfocused as the new mutant made her way to her bed and slowly laid down on it, her head buried beneath her pillow. Chloe had seen few new mutants react this way as they were left at the School, but enough to know that she would need to be careful of what she said. Especially for this girl. She was strong, Chloe knew that, but also knew that her mind had been damaged to the point of breaking.

At least, that was what Chloe's mind was telling her.

She had telepathy also.

Chloe took a deep breath. She hated talking to new muties. They never talked back. Or if they did, they never understood her. "You should get some rest. We start school tomorrow."

Len didn't answer. Instead, she kept her face buried in the pillow, breathing slowly and deeply.

Chloe couldn't decide if Len not answering her was better than being answered by an obnoxious newbie. She finally decided to be silently thankful for the silent reprieve and then looked at Len. It had been a long time since Chloe had ever pitied anyone and it felt slightly awkward to her. Slowly, she replied, "I wouldn't worry. He'll come back."

Len still did not answer. The minutes passed and Chloe soon realized that Len was sleeping. Whether Len had heard her last remark or not, Chloe didn't know, but she wasn't going to wake her up just for that. She opened her book once again and began to read.

She hadn't read long when a knock sounded on her door. Chloe sighed and got out of her bed. Too lazy to open the door that Len had shut behind her, Chloe concentrated most of her power to her head and shoulders area. She breathed in and stuck her head through the door, feeling the outline of the wood on her head and neck like a cold trickle as she passed through.

"Sheesh, Chloe! I hate it when you do that!" The brunette-haired Southern belle with the white streak exclaimed.

"Then why insist on bothering me?" Chloe asked sarcastically.

The mutant put her hands on her hips, not at all phased by Chloe's words. "That's what friends do."

"Friends, huh?" But Chloe didn't bother to comment. Of all the solitude that she cared for, she was glad for this one mutant, Rogue. She wasn't really close friends with Rogue, but she was one mutant that Chloe could cope with. There were only a few here that she could actually stand.

"It's supper time," Rogue's sweet southern drawl brought Chloe back to reality. "You comin' or are you gonna starve yourself?"

_If only you knew,_ Chloe thought sarcastically. "I'll come down eventually."

"Fine, then, but get something in your stomach. You've been sitting in your room the whole day and it was a gorgeous day today."

"I've been preoccupied."

"So I've noticed." Rogue decided then to switch gears, her voice lowering to just over a whisper and her tone serious. "How's that new mutant holdin' up? Len, right?"

"She's sleeping, after she cried her eye sockets out. I think it had something to do with that mutie that she came with."

"Explains a lot. She seems like a nice girl."

"More like scared half to death. Comes with being a new mutie, I suppose. We all know that feeling."

Rogue nodded, then turned as she heard a strange swishing of sorts. Another young mutie, just a few years younger than Rogue and Chloe, as well as about a head and a half shorter than the two, made her appearance as she floated up through the carpeted floor. Her cute amber-brown eyes glanced from Chloe to Rogue. "Bobby was wondering where you were."

"I'll be right down." Rogue answered. The young shadow mutant nodded and ghosted down through the carpeting once again.

Rogue turned back to Chloe. "Well, can't keep Bobby waiting. Make sure you eat." She began to walk away, then turned back around. "And when you do, the Professor wants you to bring some food up for her. I already got her a plate of goodies. It's wrapped in the fridge. Nothin' a little chocolate can't cure." With that, she was gone down the elevator.

Chloe kept her head through the closed, Virginian, wood-stained door, making sure that Rogue had gone completely down the elevator. She then closed her eyes and willed her head and shoulders back through the door and inside the room once again, feeling the cold trickle of the door sliding up through her neck and head. She had no intention of actually eating anything. When the last time she ate was, she couldn't actually remember. She'd rather not eat a huge meal.

She'd rather not eat anything. She opened up her book and continued to read.

The hours ticked by, Chloe engrossed in her fictitious tale, before Len so much as stirred. Len shifted in her bed and Chloe immediately snapped to attention, her blue eyes unwavering. Chloe thought to herself: _Either she continues sleeping or she wakes up to new surroundings with confusion in her eyes._

Chloe had seen too many new muties enroll at the Institute.

Len chose the latter. She instinctively grabbed the blanket and brought it up to her chin, her breathing soft but rapid. Chloe remained completely still until Len's eyes finally settled on her form lying in bed, several books strewn around the covers. Len didn't say a word; rather, she just stared, a curious and fearful expression on her face.

Chloe didn't want to stare at her for too long: she had done that too much as it was while the new mutie had been sleeping. She got out of bed and walked towards the door, opening it manually and riding down the round elevator. She passed the living room, where Blink was flipping through the channels, and walked into the kitchen, remembering that Rogue had put a platter of chocolates in the fridge. She grabbed the platter and a freshly wrapped club sandwich from also inside the fridge and walked back up to her room.

Len hadn't moved an inch from where she was sitting, but she did move her head when she heard Chloe reenter the room. Chloe continued to not make eye contact and set the chocolates and the sandwich on Len's bedside table. With her good deed done, Chloe walked back to her side of the room, piled her books neatly on her desk, and leaned back into her pillows.

For a while, there was only silence, as Len slowly looked down at the platter of chocolates. After a few minutes had passed, Chloe heard a rustle of the seran wrap on the sandwich and a few crunches as the crisp lettuce was ground in the new mutie's teeth. The sandwich was soon completely eaten, and Len began to eat her desserts.

Chloe still had not moved, but she was far from sleeping.

The sandwich and chocolate had given Len a bit of her strength and her charisma back. She popped another small chocolate truffle into her mouth and began to speak. Her tone was cheerful and slightly apologetic. "I'm sorry. I think Ms. Ororo mentioned your name before, but I forgot what it was. My name's Len. What's yours?"

"Chloe."

"Chloe. I guess there isn't a long version for Chloe is there? Len is short for Lenette."

Chloe didn't answer. The last thing she wanted was to befriend this new mutie that seemed to have the exact opposite personality as she had.

This didn't stop Len. "I guess you're a mutant, too, if you live here. What's your mutation? Is it hard to control? I guess mine is…I dunno, though…"

Chloe didn't move.

"The Professor said that he'll help me with my mutation. Do you think that it'll hurt? Will I be cured from it? I'm sorry…I'm rambling on…I have just a little too much energy right now, and the chocolates aren't helping."

_At least you realized it. That's a plus._ Chloe muttered to herself.

"Could you tell me...could you tell me how you found out about your mutation? Do your parents know that you're a…a mutant?"

Chloe thought back to a time in her almost-forgotten past. She could still smell the alcohol stench, the belts-turned-whips, the knives, his fingers and hands, his low gravelly voice yelling and swearing at her…

"Chloe?"

Once again, Chloe refused to answer. Instead she turned her back towards Len and closed her eyes.

Len got the idea and stayed quiet as she finished the platter. She then lied back down on the bed and pulled the covers over herself.

Chloe continued to listen to Len as she rustled in her bed before she got comfortable, and before she dozed off to sleep, she heard Len make a soft reply.

"Thanks for the chocolates."


	13. Chloe & Len

**Chapter 13: Chloe & Len**

By: Galadeidre

A/N: Hi, readers! Thanks for reading once again! This is a really short chapter, I know, but the next one I feel is gonna be a long chapter, so hopefully that'll make up for this one: p

By the way…I do not own Daughter of the Forest or A Scandal in Bohemia.

Stormy…thanks for giving me incentive. I hope I'll be able to update faster than I have been. Sorry about that!

EA-01…Thanks again for letting me use Chloe!

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Len squirmed as she noticed that the dark blackness her closed eyelids had given during her slumber had irritatingly been brightened. She whined and turned in her bed as she heard the curtains being drawn all the way back to let in as much sunlight into the bedroom. Giving up at trying to fall back asleep, she threw the covers off her head and opened her eyes, giving a huge sigh as she did so. She noticed her new roommate leaning at the open windowsill looking out into the school grounds. She also didn't fail to notice that Chloe was wearing her overly large black sweatshirt and long pants with black socks on a warm autumn morning, but made no comment to her.

Not wanting to be rude, Len gave a smile. "Good morning."

"Hey," Chloe responded not looking at her.

Len ignored the cold shoulder as just sudden awkwardness. After all, it was Len that had disrupted the mutant's normal day-to-day life. Len looked out her window and gave a smile. "It's a gorgeous day. I'd love to take a walk outside. You don't think they'll mind, do you?"

"We've got school today," Chloe answered, pushing herself off from the windowsill and finally looking at Len. She nodded towards the small table beside Len's bed. "There's you're schedule of classes. We'll eat breakfast downstairs so hurry up and get yourself ready." Chloe turned towards her desk, packing a few notebooks and textbooks into her backpack. Normally, she would skip breakfast, but she knew full well that the Professor wanted her to watch after the new mutant until she got the hang of things around the mansion. _After that,_ Chloe thought, _she's on her own._ She suddenly noticed that there was no noise from Len's side and turned around to see what was the matter.

Len was sitting up on her bed, but she had made no move to change or tidy herself. Chloe took one look at Len and realized what was wrong, mentally slapping herself for being so stupid. "You don't have anything else to wear, do you?"

Len miserably shook her head.

Chloe sighed. _I've become a babysitter for a teenager._ "Hang on. Lemme ask if any of the other girls have got something you could wear for now." She was about to walk out into the hallway, when she noticed a duffel bag out of the corner of her eye. Recalling that Len's boyfriend had given it to her the day before, she had a hunch. "Hang on a sec. What's in the bag that that boy gave to you?"

Len turned to glance at the duffel bag and got out of bed to grab it. "I really have no idea." She unzipped it and started taking out its contents, her emerald eyes growing wider with each item that she took out: two notebooks, a pack of pencils and pens, Julliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest, as well as Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novel, A Scandal in Bohemia. Len also took out two cute knitted turtleneck tops, a green sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, a blue pajama set, several toiletries, and – strangely to say – several sets of undergarments.

"Conner…" Len drew in a shaky breath as she realized how much Conner had just done for her. He had always been so overly responsible. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fingered through all of the items that now lay across her bed. "He shouldn't have…he didn't have to…"

Chloe, too, had realized just how much had been done for this new mutant. "You don't find a guy like him often these days," she whispered. _This is one lucky mutie. He'd be crazy not to come back and visit her after all he's done._ A sudden thought then crept into Chloe's brain, and Chloe couldn't help suppress a chuckle.

Len heard it and looked up. "What?"

Chloe was still chuckling and shook her head as she looked down. "I'm sorry, but…well…I was just thinking how weird it must've been to see a guy buying women's clothing. He seems to know your size pretty well. And I have to say, those…_clothes_…that he bought for you. They're awfully cute." Chloe had to laugh as she continued to look at the undergarments.

Len slowly glanced from Chloe back to her bed and to the clothes. A slow smile began to form on her peach-white face and she soon was laughing with Chloe, thinking how odd it would've been to see Conner buying girl stuff.

While Len continued to laugh, Chloe began to realize that she was actually _laughing_. She had actually let her barrier down and had befriended the new mutant in less than a day. She watched as Len continued laughing as she organized the items and chose a top and jeans for her outfit. Len was different from the other girls, Chloe realized: simple, honest, and not too talkative. Chloe smiled; she could live with that. She grabbed her backpack as Len finished changing and looked up. "Ready?"

Len nodded as she grabbed a notebook, pen, pencil, and her class schedule from the table. "Ready."

Chloe held the door open as Len walked through first.

"Oh, uh, Len."

Len stopped midway through the door and looked up at Chloe.

Chloe took a deep breath. "The name's Chloe Smith. I'm a wall-walker and slight telekinetic."

Len smiled. "Lenette Terace. I think I have mind powers."

Chloe nodded and gave a small grin. "Welcome to the world of mutants."

With that, they both walked down the hallway and to the elevator to start the new day.


	14. Mutant High I

**Chapter 14: Mutant High I**

By: Galadeidre

"Well, well, well." Len looked up as she entered the kitchen with Chloe to see who was speaking. The golden-haired boy she had seen when she had first arrived in the mansion was looking at both of them. The girl with the white streak in her hair was sitting beside him, her gloved hands holding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A few other kids were seated at several other tables, talking about other things and not paying much attention to the newcomers.

The blonde continued to talk, one eyebrow cocked as he spoke, "It's been a while since you actually came down to eat breakfast with the rest of us, Chloe. What's up?"

Chloe shrugged her shoulders, sitting in one of the empty seats at their table. Len took the other empty seat and sat quietly as Chloe gave a nod towards her. "This is Len. She's the new mutie here."

"Pleased to meet you," the boy remarked. He gave a smile as he held out his hand. Len shook it. "My name's Bobby."

"And I'm Rogue," the young girl replied. She, too, gave Len a handshake and a warm smile.

Len couldn't help but make a comment, "Rogue?"

Rogue laughed. "Sorry, my real name's Marie, but most people here call me Rogue. It's because of my powers."

"What do you do?" Len asked.

Rogue looked down at her gloved hands. "My skin can drain the life out of anyone it touches."

"I see," Len replied, quickly putting two and two together. She looked back at Bobby. "And what do you do?"

Bobby gave a wink. "My mutant name is Iceman."

"Ice powers?" Len asked.

Bobby's eyes twinkled. "Watch." He placed his finger on the side of his cereal bowl. The pink-colored milk that had been left over from his fruit pebbles slowly began to freeze until it was one solid block of light pink.

Len's eyes widened in awe.

Bobby chuckled. "It's instant ice cream." Len laughed as Rogue remarked, "Show off" and playfully punched him on the shoulder.

Chloe rolled her eyes and gave Len a nudge. "C'mon. Want something to eat?" She stood up and walked to the fridge, Len following. Len made herself a bowl of honey nut cheerios and grabbed an orange from the counter. Chloe grabbed a small apple and a glass of milk. They sat back down at the table.

Len glanced at Chloe's meager meal. "Aren't you going to eat more than that?"

"I'm not that hungry," Chloe answered, taking a small bite out of her apple. Len didn't ask anymore questions.

"So, Len. Do you know a Jean Grey?" Bobby asked abruptly.

"Bobby!" Rogue exclaimed, surprised at his boldness. Chloe glared at him.

Len knew who Bobby was talking about, but shook her head. "I've never met Ms. Grey. Who is she?"

Bobby continued, and Rogue and Chloe fell back in their chairs, a bit annoyed. Chloe muttered "idiot" under her breath. "She used to be a teacher here, before she died a few weeks ago."

Len looked at him in surprise. "Just recently?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah. Have you heard of that huge incident about that dam up north and the president's speech?"

Len recalled someone talking about the dam. _Can you believe that dam up in Alkali Lake ruptured...it may have been those people...the president's being too soft...who knows what kind of powers they can possess..._

"The Alkali Lake dam eruption..." Len muttered. She blinked and glanced at all of them in turn. "You guys were there?"

"Bobby and Rogue were," Chloe intervened. "I escaped with a few of the other muties."

Bobby nodded. "We were there. That's where Professor Jean died. She was helping the jet fly out of the area, and was crushed on impact with the escaping water."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well, yeah," Bobby said. "Professor Scott's never been the same."

"Who's Professor Scott?" Len asked.

"Scott Summers was Jean's boyfriend," Chloe answered abruptly. "He's a guy with lasers coming out of his eyes, which is why he'll be wearing either ruby quartz shades or his ruby quartz visor. Nothin' special about him." She gave a small groan as she pushed herself out of her chair. "Speaking of, my first class is with him." She rolled her eyes again. "Studyhall." She gave a nod at Len. "You have Math, I think, for your first class. That's with Rogue, so I'll talk to you later." She gave a wave and walked out of the kitchen, throwing her barely-eaten apple into the garbage.

"Chloe doesn't like Scott, or many others for that matter," Rogue replied, answering the unspoken question in Len's mind. "She never has. She always hated his goody-two-shoe ways. She doesn't trust him either."

Bobby snorted as they stood up and threw away their breakfast. "Ironic. She doesn't trust the person that's a teacher and a leader here, but she'll trust the man who's half wild."

"Bobby!" Rogue warned.

"Who's that?" Len asked as they left the kitchen.

"His name is Logan," Rogue replied before Bobby could answer. She glared at him. "He's our friend _and_ a good guy."

Bobby cocked his eyebrow but didn't reply. They stopped in the middle of the hallway where a second hall crossed the first. Bobby turned to his right and headed towards his first class while the girls kept walking straight.

"We'll see you two later!" Bobby waved to them and disappeared through a door.

Len followed Rogue through a door at the end of the hallway, entering into a large sunlit room with several long tables for desks. Several of the other students were already there, some conversing, others finishing the last bits of their previous assignments. Rogue sat down at one of the tables, beckoning Len to sit beside her.

No sooner had they sat down than when the door opened once again, and Professor Xavier wheeled in. He acknowledged the students in passing as he wheeled to the front of the class.

"Good morning. I trust you all slept well and are ready for today's test. Please clear your desks, leaving only a pencil, calculator, and some scratch paper if you so choose, and we'll begin."

A small wave of groans sounded throughout the classroom as the students began to clear their desks.

Len watched in curiosity, not quite knowing what to do.

"Lenette," the Professor began as he wheeled himself to her desk. "You may take the test if you wish, but I will not grade it. It will be considered more as a placement test to see how far in mathematics your skills are."

"Thanks, Professor. I think I'll do that."

Xavier gave a nod and wheeled back to the front of the classroom. "I wish you all the best of luck. You may begin."

Everyone immediately began their tests, with only the sounds of scratching pencils and clacking calculators to be heard for the next forty-five minutes. Most of the test was easy enough for Len. Silently thanking her genius of a math teacher back at home, she finished her test with fifteen minutes to spare, set her pencil down, and began to read one of the books that Conner had bought for her.

The rest of the students began to finish their pencils, and it soon was time for class to end as everyone prepared their books and headed out of the classroom.

"Lenette, I would like to speak to you for a moment," Xavier remarked as Len and Rogue stood up out of their seats.

"I'll be out in the hall," Rogue whispered with a smile of encouragement.

Len watched as Rogue closed the door and then turned to Xavier. "Yes, Professor?"

"I was wondering if you would like to start your training today?"

"My training?"

"Yes. To hone your skills. To have better control of your powers. That is if you feel up to the challenge. I have to warn you, it may be difficult."

Len sighed and gave it a moment's thought. "Well, I did come here for help in my powers, so I suppose it's better to start earlier than later."

"If that is what you want, then. I believe you have an opening during your sixth hour, correct?"

Len took out her schedule and scrolled down the text. "Yeah."

Xavier nodded and continued. "I have arranged for you to meet with someone to help with your skills. His name is Kurt Wagner and I'll send him down to meet you after your fifth hour."

"You're not teaching me?"

"No, not this lesson. I will, though, give you lessons. Your teachers will vary, depending on availability. It is common for you to eventually be taught by all the professors here in this school, depending on the progression of your mutant capabilities."

"Sounds like fun," Len remarked, a bit dryly.

Xavier smiled. "Don't worry, Lenette. You're in good hands. Now, I don't want you to be late for your next class, so you may go now."

Len nodded and walked out of the room, meeting Rogue in the hallway, and walking off to their next class.


End file.
